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HARRIS ON THE PIG. 



Breeding, Bearing, Management, 



AND 



ImproYement, 



JOSEPH HAEKIS, 

MOEETON FARM, EOCHESTEB, N. T. 

ILLUSTRATED. 
NEW AND ENLAR&ED EDITION. EEVISED BT THE AUTHOR. 



it 
h 




JUL 27] 883 J 

NEW YORK; 

OEANGE JUDD COMPANY, 

751 BROADWAY. 
1883. 






Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1883, by the 

ORANGE JUDD COMPANY, 

In the OflSce of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



PREFACE. 



With reference to preparing a new edition of this book, I 
"wrote to some of the leading pig-breeders in the United States, 
asking their opinion on many points connected with the breed- 
ing and management of pigs. I thought of enriching these 
pages with their answers, and ia fact prepared the manuscripts 
for the printer, and forwarded them to the publishers, but it 
was foxind impossible to make room for them. 

I have read these letters with great interest. All the writers 
are agreed as to the importance of good care and good feeding 
in the management of pigs. The details vary somewhat, ac- 
cording to location and circumstances. Fortunately, a pig is 
not at all particular in regard to styles of architecture or 
methods of cooking. Good pigs often come from rude aiid 
inexpensive pig-pens, and regularity and good judgment in 
feeding are of more importance than the most varied and 
nicely adjusted scientific ration of albuminoids and carbo- 
hydrates. My correspondents are also unanimous in regard to 
the importance of using pure-bred male animals. They diflFer, 
as was to be expected, in regard to the relative merits of the 
different breeds, but not one of them considers a grade, cross- 
bred, or common boar of equal value to a pure-bred sire. On 
the other hand, many of them express the opinion that grade 
or good common sows, when bred to a pure-bred male, will 
produce better and healthier pigs than pure-bred sows. In 
other words, they think that when pigs are kept solely for the 
production of pork, it is not necessary or desirable to keep the 
breed pure. Quite as many, however, and probably more, of 
my correspondents are decidedly of the opinion that it is far 
more profitable, even when pigs are kept solely for pork, and 
with no reference to their sale at high prices for breeding pur- 
poses, to make use of the pure-bred sows. They would on no 
account introduce a cross of any kind. The Berkshire breeders 
would keep nothing but Berkshire boars and Berkshire sows ; 
the Poland-China breeders would keep nothing but Poland- 

(3) 



4 HARRIS OK THE PIG. 

China boars and Poland-China sows ; and so of the Yorkshires 
and Essex, Whatever breed you select, they say, keep it pure. 

I shall not imdertake to reconcile this diffei'ence of opinion. 
One thing I am confident of : those breeders who keep the 
breed pure, and constantly weed out all inferior pigs, and breed 
only from the healthiest, best-bred, and best formed animals, 
will find a ready sale, at good prices, for all the good pigs they 
have to spare. As I said before, I know of no one who advo- 
cates using anything except a pure-bred boar, and the breeders 
of pure-bred pigs will need to be increased a hundred-fold 
before they can fumisli half the boars required to meet the 
necessities of the case. I have heard farmers say, when offered 
a pure-bred young boar for |15 or $20, "I will wait until tliey 
are cheaiDer." They will have to wait a long time. The general 
price of pure-bred animals is constantly on the rise. There 
may be fluctuations, but the general tendency is to higher 
prices. A good, pui'e-bred boar is worth far more than $25, and 
this should be considered a low j)rice for him. 

It is with great pleasure that I publish a letter from Prof. J. 
W. Sanborn, of the Missouri State Agricultural College, giving 
a brief account of his experiments in feeding pigs. These ex- 
periments confirm those of Dr. Miles, as given on page 118. 
Young animals eat more in proportion to live weight than 
older ones, and grow more rapidly in proportion to the food 
consumed. But it does not necessarily follow that it pays bet- 
ter to sell pigs at six months old than at twelve or sixteen 
months old. It depends on the cost and character of the food. 
A farmer who has more clover than he knows what to do with, 
can keep pigs through the svunmer at small cost, and when 
such pigs are shut up to fatten, they gain very rapidly. In one 
of Prof. Sanborn's experiments, pigs one year old, and weigh- 
ing, Oct. 13, 1882, about 160 lbs. each, weighed, Nov. 13, 1882, 
about 240 lbs. each. In other words, they gained 80 lbs. each 
during the month. The next month they gained far less, say 
from 45 to 60 lbs. each. The experiment occupied seventy-eight 
days in all, and during this time one jyen of four pigs ate 728J 
lbs. of com and cob meal each, and gained 114 lbs. each. An- 
other pen ate 716 lbs. of whole com each, and gained 148^ lbs. 
each. Another lot of four pigs, having the ran of a grass pas- 
ture, ate 762J lbs. of whole corn each, and gained 151 lbs. each. 
Another pen ate 799 lbs. of com meal each, and gained 159? 
lbs. each. Taking the three lots together, that had com and 



PREFACE. 5 

com meal, five pounds of corn produced one pound of pork. 
With the corn and cob meal, it required over six pounds to 
produce a pound of pork. 

In the experiments of Lawes and Gilbert, as given on page 
122, we have the same general result. It required five pounds of 
corn to make a pound of pork. With no other of our domestic 
animals can be obtained as much flesh and fat from a given 
amount of food as from a pig. But we ought not to be satis- 
fied with this amount. Five pounds of corn is capable of pro- 
ducing more than one pound of pig. We shall do better when 
we aim to breed pigs that will eat and digest more food, and 
which have at the same time so little offal and so quiet a dis- 
position, that a maximum amount of the digested food will be 
converted into flesh and fat. I hope our Agricultural Colleges 
and Experiment Stations will investigate this matter. I should 
like to see some experiments on grade and cross-bred pigs, as 
compared with pure-breds. 

I look to improved breeding, rather than to improved feed- 
ing, to give lis a better quality of pork. Both are requii-ed to 
obtain the best results. 

It has been thought that Indian corn alone is a defective pig- 
food. I do not think so. But if such is the case, it would be 
an easy matter to supply the deficiency by feeding a httle 
wheat bran or middlings, or by raising and feeding more man- 
gel wurzel and other roots, and by allowiag the pigs the range 
of a good pasture ia the smnmer. 

Pigs are no more subject to disease in America than else- 
where. In fact, taking numbers iuto consideration, our pigs 
are better fed and better cared for than in any other country, 
and are healthier, and in every respect better. We can easily 
understand why the English, German, and French farmers and 
butchers object to American pork ; but it will be our own fault 
if the consumers do not find our pig products equal or superior 
to those obtained from any other country. 

In regard to the diseases of pigs, I have nothing new to say. 
I have kept for many years a large herd of pure-bred pigs, 
averaging from forty to sixty breeding sows, but have never 
had any disease among them. When a pig is sick, it is not 
worth while to send for a doctor. If possible, remove him 
from the rest of the herd, and use disinfectants. We keep 
crude carbohc acid on hand at all times, and put half a pint in 
a pail of water, and sprinkle it about the pens, troughs, etc. 



6 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

We also put a pint of carbolic acid in a pail of whitewash, and 
■whitewash the sides of the pens. 

Sometimes, when young pigs are not doing well, which is 
more apt to be the case in winter than at any other time, I have 
found great benefit from washing them in warm water, with 
enough carbohc acid in it sufficient to sting the tongue — say 
two tablespoonfuls of the crude acid to a gallon of water. 
You must be very careful to mix the acid thoroughly with the 
water. Should you accidentally give the pig too strong a dip, 
wash him immediately with fresh water, or rub him over with 
oil or grease. When pigs have the scoiu-s, the pens should be 
constantly disinfected by the free use of dry earth, with or 
without the addition of the carbolic acid and water, previously 
alluded to. In severe cases, I have used injections of carbolic 
acid and water, about strong enough to sting the tongue 
sHghtly, with very decided benefit. Sometimes we add a httle 
castor oil or raw linseed oil to the injection. 

It is not an easy matter to administer medicine to a pig by 
way of the mouth, but it is not difficult to give injections into 
the rectum. With a rope in his mouth, and tied to a post, he 
will pull back hard enough, if you tickle his nose with a stick 
or a pig-ring, to stand perfectly rigid, and the injection can be 
easily given. If a disease should break out in my herd, I would 
give every pig an injection of carbolic acid and castor oil, and 
repeat the dose in six hours, with or without the castor oil, aa 
most convenient. J. H. 

MORETON Farm, Rochester, N. Y., ) 
July, 1883. \ 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 
Introductokt Pag«> 9 

CHAPTER II. 
Beeeds op Pigs 14 

CHAPTER III. 
The Form of a Good Pig 17 

CHAPTER IV. 
Desirable Qualities in a Pig 20 

CHAPTER V. 
Lakgk vs. Small Breeds and Crosses 22 

CHAPTER VI. 
Value op a Thorough -bred Pig 35 

CHAPTER VII. 
Good Pigs Need Good Care 37 

CHAPTER VHI. 
The Origin and Improvement op our Domestic Pigs 41 

CHAPTER IX. 
Improvement op the English Breeds of Pigs 47 

CHAPTER X. 
The Modern Breeds op English Pigs 56 

CHAPTER XI. 
Breeds op Pigs in the United States ^^ 

CHAPTER XH. 
Experiments in Pig Feeding US 

CHAPTER Xni. 

Lawes and Gilbert's Experiments in Pig Feeding 122 

7 



8 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Sugar as Food for Pigs 135 

CHAPTER XV. 
The Value of Pig Manure 137 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Piggeries and Pig Pens 144 

CHAPTER XVH. 
Swill Barrels, Pig Troughs, etc 169 

CHAPTER XVin. 
Management of Pigs 175 

CHAPTER XIX. 
English Experience in Pig Feeding 181 

CHAPTER XX. 
Live and Dead Weight of Pigs 190 

CHAPTER XXI. 
Breeding and Rearing Pigs 192 

CHAPTER XXII. 
Management of Thoroughbred Pigs 203 

CHAPTER XXm. 
The Profit of Raising Thorough-bred Pigs 220 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
Cooking Food for Pigs 221 

CHAPTER XXV. 
Summary 230 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
Appendix... 236 

CHAPTER XXVn. 
Results op Later Experience 246 



HARRIS ON THE PIG. 



CHAPTER I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

Domestic animals are kept for several objects. The 
Horse, Mule, and Ass, for labor ; the Ox for labor and 
beef; the Cow for milk and beef; the Sheep for wool and 
m.utton, and in some countries for milk also ; Poultry for 
feathers, eggs, and meat. The Pig, agriculturally, is kept 
for meat alone. The sole aim of the breeder is to obtain 
a pig that will produce the largest amount of pork and 
lard from a given quantity of food. 

The same is true of cattle when kept solely for beef. In 
this case the main difference between the two animals is, 
that the ox is provided with four stomachs, and is capable 
of extracting sulRcient nutriment, in ordinary cases, from 
bulky food, while the pig has but one stomach — and that 
comparatively a small one — and, consequently, requires 
food containing a greater amount of nutriment in a given 
bulk. Grass is the natural food of the ox ; roots, nuts, and 
acorns, worms and other animal matter, the natural food 
of the hog. The pig unquestionably requires a more con- 
centrated food than the ox or the sheep. 

The stomach of an ox Aveighs about 35 lbs. ; that of a 
Southdown or Leicester sheep from 3 to 4 lbs. ; and that 
of a pig 1^ lbs. 

The weight of the stomach, in projiortion to each one 
9 1* 



10 HAKKIS ON THE PIG. 

hundred pounds of live weight, is : ox, 3 lbs. ; sheep, 3 to 
4 lbs. ; fat pig, 0.66 lbs. In other words, in proportion to 
live weight, the stomach of an ox, or sheep, is about five 
times as great as that of a pig. 

It is quite evident, from these facts, that the pig is not 
so well adapted to feed on grass or hay as the ox or sheep. 

This is a strong argument against the hog as an eco- 
nomical farm animal. 

In proportion to the nutriment they contain, the con- 
centrated foods are more costly than those of greater 
bulk. Not only is their market price usually higher, but 
it costs more to produce them. Elaboration is an expen- 
sive process. The common white turnip, containing from 
92 to 94 per cent of water, can be grown with less labor 
and manure, and in a shorter period, than the Swedish 
turnip, containing from 88 to 90 per cent of water, and 
this less than the Mangel Wurzel, containing only 86 per 
cent of water. Carrots, which are still more nutritious, 
are even more costly, in proportion to the nutriment they 
contain. This is probably a general law. 

As the ox can subsist and fatten on less concentrated 
and less costly food than the pig, it follows, therefore, that 
u pound of beef ought to be produced at less cost than a 
pound of pork. 

There are, however, several circumstances which modify 
this conclusion. Pigs will eat food which, but for them, 
would be wasted. Where grain or oil-cake is fed to cattle, 
a certain number of pigs can be kept at a merely nominal 
cost. We can in no other way utilize the refuse from the 
house and the dairy so advantageously as by feeding it 
to swine. On grain farms, i:)igs will obtain a good living 
for several weeks after harvest, on the stubbles, and in 
some sections, they find a considerable amount of food in 
the woods. 

Even where we have none of these advantages, the dif- 
ference in the cost of producing a pound of beef and a 



INTRODUCTORY. 11 

pound of pork is not so great as the above considerations 
would lead us to suppose. The hog is a great eater. He 
can eat, and digest, and assimilate, more nutriment in a 
given time, in proportion to his size, than any other of our 
domestic animals. 

The extensive and elaborate experiments of Messrs. 
Lawes and Gilbert show that, notwithstanding pigs are 
fed much richer food than oxen and sheep, they neverthe- 
less eat about twice as much food, in proportion to live 
weight, as a sheep. On the other hand, it was found that 
401 lbs. of Indian corn meal and bran (dry) produced 
100 lbs. of pork (live weight), while it required 1,548 lbs. 
of oil-cake and clover hay (dry) to produce 100 lbs. of 
mutton (live weight.) 

Why a pig should gain so much more from a given 
quantity of food, than a well-bred sheep or steer, has not 
hitherto been explained. It has been attributed to the 
fact that the pig possesses larger and more powerful as- 
similating organs. 

Thus, Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert say : " An examination 
of these tables [of results of experiments] will show 
that the stomachs and contents constituted 

In the oxen about 11 >^ per cent of the entire weight of the bodj'. 
" " sheep " 7)4 " " '• " " " " 

" " pig " IX " " " 

" The intestines and their contents, on the other hand, 
stand in an opposite relation. Thus, of the entire body, 
these amounted 

In the pig to about &}£ per cent. 
" " sheep " " 3)^ " " 
" " oxen " " 2% " " 

" These facts," they remark, " are of considerable inter- 
est, when it is boi-ne in mind, that in the food of the 
ruminant there is so large a proportion of indigestible 
woody fibre, and in that of a well-fed pig a comparatively 
large proportion of starch — the primary transformations 



12 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

of which arc sui^j^osed to take place chiefly after leaving 
the storaach, and more or less throughout the intestinal 
canal." 

These facts explain very clearly why an ox or a sheep 
can thrive on more bulky food than a pig; also why a pig 
can assimilate more food than an ox or a sheep, hut they 
do not show why a given amount of food should produce 
so much more flesh and fat when fed to the pig than when 
fed to oxen or sheep — unless, indeed, we are to suppose 
that in the case of the ox and the sheep, a considerable 
proportion of the food passes through the body undigest- 
ed and unassimilated. But an analysis of the excre- 
ments indicates nothing of this kind. Except when an 
excessive amount of grain is allowed, the food is unques- 
tionably as thoroughly digested and assimilated in the 
ox and the sheep, as in the pig. 

We must, therefore, look for some other explanation of 
the fact that pigs can gain more rapidly on a given 
amount of nutriment than oxen or sheep. 

An animal requires a certain amount of nutritive matter 
merely to sustain life. This matter may be derived either 
from the daily food supplied, or from matter previously 
stored up in the body. The actual amount required, va- 
ries greatly according to the conditions in which the ani- 
mal is placed. If kept comfortably warm and quiet, less 
is required than if exposed to cold, or compelled to labor. 
But in all cases, wherever life exists, a certain amount of 
nutritive matter is necessary for its support. Directly or 
indirectly, this is always derived from the food. 

How much food is necessary to keep an animal so that 
it shall neither gain nor lose in flesh, has not been accu- 
rately ascertained. Thousands of animals are so kei^t, 
but the actual amount consumed is seldom determined. 
It often happens that cows, not giving milk, are so kept 
during the winter that they do not weigh a pound more 
in the spring than in the fall. We receive absolutely noth- 



INTRODUCTORY. 13 

ing for the food they eat. It is all consumed in sustaining 
the vital functions. 

A well-bred Shorthorn has been made to weigh 1,200 
lbs. by the time it was a year old. On the other hand, an 
ox is sometimes kept five years before it attains this 
weight. The Shorthorn was fed a considerable amount 
of food over and above that required to sustain life, while 
the other had little more than was necessary for this pui'- 
pose. Let us assume that the latter ate 4 tons of hay a 
year, and that 80 per cent of it was used merely to sus- 
tain life. At the end of five years he would have con- 
sumed 20 tons of hay, 16 tons of which have been \ised 
merely to sustain the vital functions, and 4 tons have been 
converted into 1,200 lbs. of animal matter. 

The Shorthorn accomplished the same result in one 
year ; and Ave may reasonably siippose that in this case 
also, 4 tons of hay or its equivalent, were sufiicient to fur- 
nish the material necessary for the formation of this 
amount of animal growth. We may further assume that 
at any rate no more food was required to sustain the vital 
functions in the Shorthorn than was required by the other 
animal. This we have estimated at 3 tons 4 cwt. a year. 
It follows, therefore, that the Shorthorn, by eating 7 tons 
4 cwt. of hay or its equivalent, in a single year was ena- 
bled to produce as much beef as the other steer produced 
by the consumption of 4 tons a year for five years. The 
consumption of less than twice as much food enalded the 
Shorthorn to increase five times as rapidly as the other. 
Seven tons 4 cwt. of hay, or its equivalent, produced as 
much growth (and probably more beef and fat), when fed 
to the animal capable of eating and assimilating it. 

These considerations Avill show why a pig, that can eat 
so much more food than a sheep or an ox, in proportion 
to size, is enabled to grow so much faster, in proportion to 
the food consumed. 

The fact that the pig has greater powers of assimilating 



14 HARRIS OX THE PIG. 

food, merely explains why he can grow so rapidly, but it 
throws no light on the fact that he can gain more rapidly, 
in proportion to the food consumed, than any other do- 
mestic animal. The real explanation of this fact is the 
one given above. He can eat more, digest more, and as- 
similate more, over and above the amount of food neces- 
sary to sustain life. 



CHAPTER IL 

BREEDS OF PIGS. 

Like all other animals, pigs adapt themselves to the cir- 
cumstances in which they are placed. Whei'e the supply 
of food is scanty and uncertain, they grow slowly, and 
are long in coming to maturity. Where they have to 
travel far in search of their food, they have legs adapted 
for the purpose ; and if they are obliged to seek their 
food under ground, their snouts soon become long and 
powerful. Where they are liable to molestation or attack, 
they soon acquire a ferocious disposition and the means 
for defence. On the other hand, where they have a liberal 
and constant supply of food, where they are provided 
with warm and comfortable quarters, and are never harshly 
treated, they become gentle in disposition, are indisposed 
to roam about, have finer hair and skin, shorter and finer 
legs, smaller head, ears and snout. They grow rapidly 
and mature early. 

Such a change does not take place at once ; and the 
same may be said of the conditions. A rude system of 
agriculture is never immediately followed by high farm- 
ing. There must be intermediate changes. And so it is 
with our domestic animals. We have almost as many 
kinds of hogs as we have different kinds or systems of 
farming. We do not call them breeds, because there is 



BREEDS OP PIGS. 15 

little permanency of character about them. They are 
constantly changing, just as the management of their own- 
ers varies. 

A breed possesses fixed characteristics. If fully estab- 
lished, and the conditions of feeding and management are 
not changed, these characteristics are transmitted from 
generation to generation. In pigs, owing to their fecund- 
ity, it is a comparatively easy matter to establish a breed. 

Man does not create a breed. God alone creates. All 
that we can do is to avail ourselves of that inherent dis- 
position which animals have of adapting themselves to 
the conditions in which they are placed. The conditions 
are under our control. Let the breeder first make up his 
mind what system of feeding and management he will 
adopt. Then let him steadily and perseveringly adhere 
to it. An unstable man can never be a successful breeder. 
If he wishes a breed that will grow moderately on a mod- 
erate allowance of food, and arrive at maturity in two or 
three years, he can attain his object by feeding moderately 
and selecting such pigs to breed from, as come nearest his 
wishes. If any pigs in the litter manifest a disposition to 
grow rapidly, they must be rejected. Such pigs are not 
suited to a moderate allowance of food. Their offsj^ring 
will certainly degenerate. Better select those which 
make the slowest growth, and which are consequently 
least likely to experience the injurious effects of starva- 
tion. By steadily pursuing this method, a breed can be 
obtained which will eat little and grow slowly, and yet 
remain healthy. If it is desired to have them attain a 
greater weight without increasing the daily allowance of 
food, attention must be directed to this object. Do not 
let either the sow or the boar breed until they have at- 
tained their fullest growth, say at three, four, or five years 
of age. 

The advantage of such a breed lies in the fact that it 
would suffer less from occasional starvation, than breeds 



16 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

which are adapted to grow rapidly, and mature early, on 
liberal feeding. But of course such a breed can only be 
profitable where the food costs little or nothing — and 
even in this case it may well be questioned whether a ; 
breed that eats more and gains faster would not be more 
profitable. All that we wish to show is, that no matter 
what the object of the breeder is, he can attain it. He 
can raise a breed adapted to any system of feeding and 
management he desires to adopt. In point of fact, the 
pigs will adapt themselves, sooner or later, to the supply 
of food and the means necessary for them to use, in order 
to obtain it. The breeder can, by selection, greatly acceler- 
ate the change, but the main cause is the food and treat- 
ment. In this sense the " breed goes in at the mouth." 

If a farmer wishes a breed of pigs that will grow with 
great rapidity and fatten early, he cannot attain his object 
without liberal feeding. If he will furnish this for sev- 
eral generations and at the same time provide warm and 
comfortable quarters, and never sufier the pigs to be 
harshly treated or neglected, he will do much to secure 
his object. Selection will do the rest. It is generally 
supposed that the success of the breeder depends mainly 
on his ability to select a boar — having those points fully 
developed in which his sows are most deficient ; and 
doubtless this requires much skill and nice discrimi- 
nation. But we are satisfied that the cause of failure 
is generally owing to inconstant or illiberal feeding. 
The breeder must love his animals, and must give them 
his constant personal attention. A few weeks' neglect, 
starving at one season and surfeiting at another, harsh 
treatment, and damp, dirty pens, will counteract all the 
advantage derived from months of good management. 

Nature protects herself The offspring of animals lia- 
ble to such occasional neglect will, so to speak, expect such 
treatment, and even if they themselves have liberal and 



THE FOKM OF A GOOD PIG. 17 

constant feeding, they will not possess the qualities of 
rapid growth and early maturity, in the highest degree. 

It is the weakest link that determines the strength of a 
chain. And so far as inherited qualities are concerned, 
the rapidity of growth will be influenced more by the pe- 
riods of neglect and starvation, than by the occasional 
periods of high feeding. Starving a young, well-bred 
sow may not show any great and injurious effect on the 
sow herself, but the ofl"spring of such a sow, if she breed 
at all, will be seriously injured. A few months starvation 
and neglect may counteract nearly all the advantages 
which the breed has acquired by generations of careful 
breeding and feeding. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE FORM OF A GOOD PIG. 

The aim of all breeders of animals designed solely for 
meat, is to have the body approximate as closely as possi- 
ble to the form of a parallelepiped. In proportion to the 
size, an animal of this form contains the greatest weight. 
Hence it is, that farmers who have kept nothing but 
common pigs, and who look upon a well-formed, grade 
Essex or Suffolk as " small," are sui-prised to find, when 
brought to the scales, that it weighs more than an old- 
fashioned, ill-formed pig of much greater apparent size. 

Another advantage of this form is, that it gives a greater 
proportion of the most desirable parts of the pig. 

In a pig of this form the ribs are well-arched. We can- 
not have a flat, broad, "table-back" without this. And 
consequently the muscle which runs along each side of the 
vertebrae, is well developed, and we have a large quantity 
of meat of the best quality. 



18 



HARRIS ON THE PIG. 




This form also affords abundant room for the lungs, 
stomach, and intestines ; and it is on the capacity of 
these organs to convert a large amount of comparatively 
cheap food into a large quantity of flesh and fat that de- 
termines the value of the animal. 

We annex a portrait of a tolerably well-formed pig, 
with lines showing how to apply the test above alluded 

to. The nearer he 
will fill the rectangu- 
lar frame, the nearer 
he approaches to 
perfection of form. 
It would be well, for 
Ir farmers to place a 
straight cane along 
the back, also along 

Fig. 1.-TESTING THE FORM OF A PIG. ^^^ ^-^^^^ shouldcrS 

and hams of their pigs, and see how near they come up to 
the desired standard. 

The length of a pig should bear a certain proportion to 
his breadth. Many farmers object to the improved breeds, 
because they are too short. In point of fact, however, 
they are often longer than their ill-bred favorites. They 
appear short, because they are so broad. A large-boned 
hog is longer than one having small bones. There are as 
many vertebrse in the shortest Suffolk as in the longest 
Yorkshire. 

A fine-boned pig cannot be long-bodied. It may ap- 
pear long, but this will usually be because it is narrow. 
Breadth and depth are of far greater importance than 
length. Robert Bakewell, the originator of the improved 
Leicester sheep, and one of the most skillful and expe- 
rienced breeders in the world, is said to have formed a 
breed of pigs that, when fat, were "nearly equal in 
height, length, and thickness, their bellies almost touching 
the ground, the eyes being deep set and sunk from fat. 



THE FORM OF A GOOD PIG. 19 

and the whole carcass appearing to be a solid mass of 
flesh." Bakewell left no record of his mode or principles 
of breeding, but the following sentence from the descrip- 
tion of his pigs above quoted, throws light on the point 
we are now considering : " These pigs are remarkably fine- 
boned and delicate, and are said to lay on a larger quan- 
tity of meat, in proportion to bone and offal, than any oth- 
er kind known." In other words, Bakewell, with all his 
skill, could not obtain fineness of bone, and length too, 
any more than a builder could reduce the size of his 
bricks, and then make the same number form as long a 
wall. What he probably did, was, to take a large pig and 
reduce the size of the bones, and consequently the length 
of body, without reducing the breadth and depth of the 
animal. 

In a common sow, to be crossed with a thorough-bred 
boar, length of body is often very desirable ; but in a 
thorough-bred pig it is a doubtful quality, as indicating a 
want of breadth and fineness of bone. 

The head of a pig should be set close to the shoulders. 
The broader and deeper the cheeks, the better, as next to 
the ham and shoulder there is no choicer meat on the pig. 
A well-cooked cheek of bacon, with roast chicken, is a 
dish for an epicure. 

The snout should be short and delicate, and the ears 
small and fine. A thick, heavy, pendant ear is an indica- 
tion of coarseness and is never desirable in a thorough-bred 
pig. It should be small, fine, soft, and silky. It should be 
well set on the head and lean a little forward, but not fall 
over. An ear that is upright indicates an unquiet disposi- 
tion. 



20 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

CHAPTER IV. 

DESIRABLE QUALITIES IN A PIG. 

As the domestic hog is kept solely for its flesh and fat, 
the pig that will afford the greatest amount of meat and 
lard of the best quality at the least cost, other things be- 
ing equal, is the most profitable breed. 

It has been well said that Cincinnati owes its wealth to 
the discovery of a method of putting 15 bushels of corn 
into a three-bushel barrel, and transporting it to distant 
markets. This has been accomplished by means of the 
pig. He converts 7 bushels of corn into 100 lbs. of jjork. 

In accomplishing this result, the organ of first import- 
ance is the stomach. It is here that the first change in 
this wonderful process commences. In a flouring mill we 
have a water-wheel or steam-engine which drives the 
stones, and the machinery for removing the bran and oth- 
er inferior products of the grain from the fine flour. The 
capacity of the establishment is determined by the motive 
power and the " run of stones." A pig is a mill for con- 
verting corn into pork. The stomach is at once the 
water-wheel or steam-engine, and the stones for grinding 
the grain, — and the motive power, which runs the mill 
and the machinery, is derived from the consumption of corn. 

Now, if we furnish merely corn enough to run the ma- 
chinery, and put no grain in the hopper, we lose not only 
the use of the mill, but of all the grain used for fuel. 

If we should keep the mill supplied only half the time, 
and yet keep the machinery running at full speed night 
and day, (as we must needs do in the case of an animal) 
would it be considered good management ? 

Let us see. Suppose it takes 75 lbs, of corn to run the 
machinery. If we furnish no more than this, we get noth- 
ing in return. If we furnish 100 lbs., (say 75 lbs. for 
fuel and 25 lbs. for the hopper,) we may obtain, say 20 



DESIRABLE QUALITIES IN A PIG. 21 

lbs. of flour. If we furnish another extra 25 lbs. to the 
hopper, or 125 lbs. in all, we get 40 lbs. of flour ; if we 
furnish 150 lbs., we get 60 lbs. of flour. In other words, 
150 lbs. of corn will furnish three times as much flour as 
100 lbs. 

It may be said that more power would be required to 
run the mill when it is grinding than when it is running 
empty. But in the case of an animal it is doubtful how 
far this objection holds. It is not improbable that the 
conversion of each additional pound of corn into pork 
generates the amount of power necessary for the change. 
But whether this be so or not, no one can question the 
advantage to be derived from furnishing all the grain that 
the mill will grind and manufacture. 

Of the desirable qualities in a pig, therefore, a vigorous 
appetite is of the first importance. A hog that will not 
eat, is of no more use than a mill that will not grind. And 
it is undoubtedly true that the more a pig will eat in pro- 
portion to its size, pi-ovided he can digest and assimilate 
it, the more profitable he will prove. 

The next desirable quality is, perhaps, quietness of dis- 
position. The blood is derived from the food, and flesh is 
derived from the blood. Animal force is derived from the 
transformation of flesh. The more of this is used in un- 
necessary motions, the greater the demand on the stomach, 
and the more food will there be required merely to sustain 
the vital functions — and the more frequently flesh is 
transformed and formed again, the tougher and less pala- 
table it becomes. 

This quality, or quietness of disposition, combined with 
a small amount of useless parts or offal, has been the 
aim of all modern breeders. Its importance will readily 
be perceived if we assume that 75 per cent of the 
food is ordinarily consumed to support the vital func- 
tions, and that the slight additional demand of only 
one-sixth more food, is required for the extra offal 



22 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

parts and unnecessary activity. Such a coarse, restless 
animal would gain, in flesh aud fat, in proportion to the 
food consumed, only half as fast as the quiet, refined 
animal. 

A little calculation will show this to be true in theory, 
as it is undoubtedly true in practice. Thus take two pigs. 
No. 1 eats 100 lbs. of corn, 75 lbs. of which are required 
to sustain the vital functions. He gains, say 20 lbs. 

No. 2, a coarse, restless pig, eats 100 lbs. of corn, 87^ 
lbs. of which are necessary to support the vital functions. 

No. 1 has 25 lbs. of food over and above the amount 
required to sustain the vital functions, and gains 20 lbs. of 
pork. No. 2 has only 12^ lbs., and consequently, cannot 
produce more than 10 lbs. 

To assume that a rough, coarse, savage, ill-bred, squeal- 
ing, mongrel hog will require only one-sixth more food to 
"run his machinery," than a quiet, refined, well-bred 
Berkshire, Essex or Sufiblk pig will not be considered ex- 
travagant ; and yet it undoubtedly follows that, for the 
food consumed, the quiet pig will gain in flesh and fat 
twice as fast as the other. If in addition to this he will 
eat 25per cent more food, he will gain four times as fast. 

The two great aims of every pig breeder should be to 
lessen the demands on the stomach for ofial or least valu- 
able parts, and for unnecessary activity on the one hand, 
and on the other to increase the power of the stomach, 
and digestive and assimilative organs as much as possible. 



CHAPTER V. 

LARGE vs. SMALL BREEDS AND CROSSES. 

Mr. Lawes' experiments on the diflferent breeds of sheep, 
prove conclusively that well-bred mutton sheep of the same 
age, consume food in almost exact proportion to their size 



LARGE VS. SMALL BREEDS AND CROSSES. 23 

or live weight. Two Cotswold sheep, weighing 120 lbs. 
each, will eat as much food as three Southdown sheep, 
weighing 80 lbs. each. But the two Cotswolds will gain 
much more than the three Southdowns. The average in- 
crease for one hundred lbs. live weight was, with the Cots- 
wold, 2 lbs. 2 oz. per week ; and with the Southdowns, 
1 lb. lOf oz. per week — both breeds having precisely the 
same food. In other words, two Cotswold sheep, weigh- 
ing 120 lbs. each, would eat the same amount of food as 
three Southdowns weighing 80 lbs. each ; but the two 
Cotswolds would gain 17 lbs. each, while the three South- 
downs gained only 9 lbs. each. Where Cotswold mutton 
brings as much per pound as the Southdown, it is evident 
that the Cotswolds are the more profitable breed for fat- 
tening. 

We know of no similar experiments on the different 
breeds of pigs. Reasoning from analogy, we might con- 
clude that, as the large Cotswold sheep gained much more, 
for the food consumed, than the small Southdowns, the 
large Yorkshire pigs would gain much more, for the food 
consumed, than the small Suffolks. 

This may or may not be true. If it should prove to be 
a fact, we should conclude that a pig of the large breed 
ate much more food over and above the amount required 
to keep up the animal heat and sustain the vital functions, 
than a pig of the small breed; and, as we have attempted 
to show in a previous chapter, the large pig would, in such 
a case, gain much more in proportion to the food consum- 
ed, than the small pig of the same age. 

There can be no doubt that a large pig, other things 
being equal, will eat more food than a small pig of the 
same age. 

It is equally true that a large pig, at ordinary temper- 
atures, will not require, in proportion to its weight, as 
much food to keep up the animal heat as a small pig. A 
pig weighing 100 lbs. will not radiate as much heat as two 



24 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

pigs weighing 50 lbs. each. The larger the pig, the less 
surface is there exposed to the atmosphere in proportion to 
weight. 

It follows, therefore, that a large pig, eating more food 
and losing less animal heat, would have a greater amount 
of food to he appropriated to the formation of fat and 
flesh, in proportion to live weight, than a smaller pig of 
the same age. 

So far as this kind of reasoning goes, therefore, it wonld 
seem that the large breeds of pigs are preferable to the 
small breeds. 

This conclusion is opposed to the opinion of a large 
number of very intelligent and observing pig breeders 
and feeders. There can be no doubt that the weight 
of testimony, so far as the production of a given amount 
of pork from a given amount of food is concerned, is 
against the large breeds. 

The truth of the matter is probably this : The small 
breeds mature earlier than the large breeds. This in itself 
is a great advantage. The pigs are not only ready for the 
butcher at an earlier age, but as animal life is always at- 
tended by a constant transformation of tissue, every day 
we gain in time, saves the amount of food necessary to 
supply this waste and keej) up the animal heat. 

Early maturity, therefore, is one of the principal aims 
of the breeder and feeder. But early maturity is always 
attended with a diminution of size ; and the small breeds 
oAve their value, not to their small size, but to their early 
maturity and tendency to fatten while young. 

In point of fact, however, the term Small Breed or 
Large Breed, as used by our Agricultural Societies, has 
no very distinct meaning. The New York State Agricul- 
tural Society offers prizes for two classes of pigs — and 
only two. 

1st. " Large Breed ; which, when full grown and fatten- 
ed, will weigh over 450 lbs. dressed." 



LARGE VS. SMALL BREEDS AND CROSSES. 25 

2d. " Small Breed ; which, when full grown and fatten- 
ed, will not weigh over 450 lbs. dressed." 

Exhibitors seem to have entered their pigs in the class 
for small breeds one year, and in that for large the next, 
Berkshire, Essex, Sufiblk and Yorkshire have all been ex- 
hibited, first in one class and then in another, and fre- 
quently the same breeder will exhibit Berkshire or Essex 
at the same fair in both classes. 

The same state of facts seems to exist in England. 
There are Large Yorkshires and Small Yorkshires, Large 
Berkshires and Small Berkshires. Of late years, a 
new class of " Medium " Breeds has been formed at the 
Agricultural Shows. There, as here, it is not always easy 
to determine the class to which a particular breed belongs. 
An English breeder of " Small Yorks," says he can " get 
them up profitably to 600 lbs. when thick bacon is required." 

On the other hand, the advocates of the Large York- 
shires claim that pigs of this breed " attain a good bacon 
size at a very early age, and when killed, they cut more 
lean meat in proportion to the fat than the smaller breeds." 

A sow of this breed, which took the Prize at Rother- 
ham, in 1856, age three years and two months, weighed 
1,315 lbs.* 

The author above quoted, says : " The large breed is 
equally valuable for making large or small bacon, that be- 
ing only a matter of age ; as porkers of a few weeks old, 
they are unequaled ; their flesh being very rich and well- 
flavored, and not so fat as the small breeds." 

On the other hand, Mr. George Mangles, of Givendale, 
Ripon, one of the largest and most successful breeders 
and feeders in Yorkshire, fui-nishes the London Farmers' 
Magazine, for June, 1861, the following interesting ac- 
count of his experience : 

" About ten years ago, I commenced pig-keeping on a 



* Youatt on the Pig. By S. Sidney. London : 1860. Page 14. 
2 



26 HAKEIS ON THE PIG. 

larger scale than the generality of farmers. What I 
wanted, and what my farm required, was a quantity of 
good manure. I first tried buying stores in tlie neighbor- 
hood, but soon gave that up, as they were chiefly of the 
large breed, and required too much food and liberty. I 
had no alternative but to breed my own stores. With a 
view to find a profitable sort, I purchased a few of the 
best from difiereut breeders of note, and kept them sepa- 
rate, and also a few stores of each sort together, living on 
the same kind of food. I also tried the different crosses ; 
but, to get the cross, I must have pure stock at first ; so I 
considered it best to keep to a pure breed. I tried the 
Essex, the black Leicester, the Berkshire, the large York- 
shire, the small Yorkshire, and lastly the Cumberland 
small breed. I must confess that at the outset I had but 
little experience to guide me ; not understanding the prin- 
ciples of breeding, I committed many foolish mistakes, 
which I paid dearly enough for; and if these few lines 
should meet the eye of any one wishful to form and keep 
a breed of pigs, I shall be glad for such a man to profit 
by the experience of another. I never expected pigs to 
live on nothing : because the manure made from pigs liv- 
ing on nothing would be worth nothing, and it was good 
manure I was aiming at. I founil any breed pay, except 
the large breeds. All the crosses having the small breed 
for the sire always paid : whichever breed is intended to 
be kept, the best bred ones should be obtained. I do not 
advocate breeding in-and-in ; but I do advocate, if you 
want to maintain the same style of animal, generation after 
generation, to cross with the same blood, but as far dis- 
tant as you can get it. I do not know a better sign of 
pure breeding than a litter of pigs all alike, or three or 
four sisters breeding alike to the snme boar. When the 
breed is obtained, one thing must always be kept in mind, 
the first boar a sow is put to, influences the succeeding lit- 
ters for three or four times. 



LARGE VS. SMALL BREEDS AND CROSSES. 27 

"After the breeding, come the feeding and attention. 
Milk and fat must go in at the month before it makes its 
appearance in the animal. I do not believe those, who say 
their pigs get fat on nothing. I know from experience 
that one pig would live where another would starve, and 
what it would take to make one large-bred pig fat, would 
make several smaller-bred ones ' iip.' A great help to 
profitable pig-keeping is warmth, and confinement, and 
regularity in feeding ; as by also keeping the skin of the 
animal clean by washing and brushing occasionally. If 
two animals of the same litter be put into two diiferent 
sties, and have the same quantity of food each, the one 
that is kept warm and with the skin clean will gain more 
weight than the other. I found that out one winter, when 
Jack Frost was astir, before I jDut np a new pig-shed. My 
man was feeding a lot of j^igs alike, only some were in 
common sties and others in a warm shed. The difference 
was very striking : those kept warm fed nearly half as fast 
again as the others. This induced me to build a long 
covered shed sixty feet long and eighteen feet wide, that 
would hold seventy porkers or fifty bacon pigs, whei'e, 
when the thermometer has been below freezing point out- 
side, it has inside been very warm and comfortable. The 
pigs have their food warm in Avinter, and are never starv- 
ed by the cold ; they are bedded with clean straw every 
other day, and the shed is kept rather dark. The manure 
made is of first quality and fit to use for turnips. 

" Perhaps some of the readers of this pajjer would like 
to know something about the dietary of my pigs. I have 
not included sugar in my list of feeding ingredients. I 
have never gone higher than new milk, which they always 
take without sweetening. In tlie first place, I must say 
that I exhibit at a few of the leading agricultural meet- 
ings, and am generally, if not at the top of the ladder, 
not many spokes ofiT. I keep my breeding stock difierent 
to my show stock, as I do not like breeding animals to be 



28 HARRIS OX THE PIG. 

over-fat ; but show animals are obliged to be fat, or the 
judges will pass them over. The over-feeding of prize 
animals is a very great evil, but one that can not be very- 
well remedied. A show of lean breeding animals would 
be a very lean show indeed in many respects : an exhib- 
itor must always sacrifice some of his best animals to 
please the public fancy. I think there is less risk in fat 
breeding pigs than any other animal. I have had several 
very fat sows pig, and never lost any. I gave them noth- 
ing but a very little bran and water a week before jiig- 
ging, and but little after for a week, while I put a little 
castor oil in their food directly after jDigging. I have the 
greatest trouble in reducing the male animals, as they will 
nearly hunger to death before they will part with their 
fat. I generally turn them into a large yard, and give 
them plenty of water, and a wurzel or two every day, or 
turn them out to grass in summer. 

" To my regular breeding pigs and stores, I am giving 
boiled rape-cake and barley-meal, one feed a day, and one 
feed of raw potatoes or wurzel ; and if in summer, I turn 
them to grass, or soil them with clover in the yards. 

"I soil a good many every year. A week or two be- 
fore the sow pigs, I contrive to put her into a loose box, 
with a railing around to keep her from crusliing the pigs. 
I can always tell when she is going to pig by trying if she 
has milk in the paps : if a sow gives milk freely, she will 
pig any time. I then contrive to be, or have some one, 
near at hand, to take the pigs away as she pigs them, as 
the sows are sometimes uneasy and will crush them. Af- 
ter she has pigged, I feed her with warm water and bran, 
and then give lier the pigs and leave them, because the 
less they are disturbed tlie better. I always feed the sow 
sparingly at first, as I have sometimes found, when a sow 
has been fed too liberally at first, the flow of milk is 
greater than the pigs can take ; consequently the udder be- 
comes hard, and the sow is very uneasy, and will scarcely 



LARGE VS. SMALL BREEDS AND CROSSES. 29 

let the i>igs suck lier. If such is the case, the best way is 
to rub the udder "well with the hand three or four times a 
day. Small-bred sows are commonly very quiet and 
tractable. 

" Generally when the pigs are three weeks or a month 
old, they will scour, if proper care has not been paid to 
the sow's feeding. I never could get a man that could 
get me a litter through without scouring. I have tried 
different jjlans, but the one I have found most successful 
is, to always give the sow a tablespoonful of the following 
mixture in her food : Mix together 2 lbs. of fenugreek, 2 
lbs. of anise-seed, "I" lb. of gentain, 2 oz. carbonate of soda, 
and 2 lbs. of j^owdered chalk. The sow gets very fond 
of this, and the little pigs, too, like it. Give the pigs also 
plenty of coal ashes to root amongst. I prefer oats, 
wheat, and a little barley ground together, for sows giving 
milk. I have never tried the sugar diet, but I have found 
new milk fresh from the cow to work wonders in a short 
time. 

" Warmth, cleanliness, and regularity in feeding, a lit- 
tle good food and often, are the main secrets in rearing 
young pigs. I never like to see food left in a pig's trough : 
just give what they can eat up and no more. When pigs 
are put up to feed they should be kept warm and quiet. 
Five porkers or three bacon pigs are plenty together. The 
pen they are kept in need not be very large, but the pigs 
should be rung, and a little fresh bedding spread about 
them every second day. Pigs like to be kept warm, but 
plenty of fresh air must be allowed to circulate through 
the pens, or else disease will soon show itself." 

According to the editor of Youatt on the Pig, Mr. 
Mangles " is a plain farmer, feeding pigs for j^rofit," and 
his statements will be received with all the more confi- 
dence on this account. We give the details of his manage- 
ment, not only because they are interesting and instructive 
in themselves, but because the system of management and 



30 HAERIS ON THE PIG. 

feeding have often more to do with the profits of pig 
breeding and feeding than the mere question of large or 
small breeds. 

On page 66 we give a portrait of one of his Prize pigs 
of the Small Breed, from a steel engraving in the London 
Farmers' Magazine for June, 1861. 

It will be observed that Mr. Mangles says he " found 
any breed pay except the large breed." " All the crosses 
having the small breed for the sire always paid." 

To the same effect is the testimony of Mr. Hewitt Davis, 
a name familiar to all readers of English agricultural liter- 
ature. He says: 

" My experience in stock keeping has been so decidedly 
in favor of breeding and fatting of pigs, that I may, with 
advantage to many who think differently, give some ac- 
count of my management. That I should do so is the 
more necessary from farmers having generally a very low 
oi^inion of the profit to be gained from the breeding of 
pigs, and I cannot but ascribe their failures too often to 
the negligence with which this stock is looked after. On 
an arable farm of 200 acres my stock has been 12 sows 
and two boars ; and their produce, according to the season, 
consisted either of rising stores running in the yards, or 
on the leas or stubbles; or of porkers in the sties fatting 
for the market. From March to October my stock may 
be said to have lived loose on stoie keep, jirincipally green 
food ; and from October to March (tlie parent stock ex- 
cepted) in sties, fatting on roots and boiled corn. The 
sows on an average gave me, one with another, 14 pigs a 
year each, so that in summer my stock Avas about 100 iip- 
on store keep, and in Avinter about 200, of Avhich 180 were 
in sties finishing for market. The spring litters went off 
in January and February as large porkers of 30 stones 
(240 lbs.) each, and the autumn-born as small porkers of 
about 7 stones (56 lbs.) each ; the first realizing about £5 
each, and the last about 30s. each, so that each sow re- 



LARGE VS. BMALL BKEEDS AND CROSSES. 31 

turned about £45 a year ; and this amount there is no dif- 
ficulty ill obtaining, large pork selling at 3s. 4d, per stone 
of 8 lbs. (11 cts, per lb.), and small pork at 4s. 4d. (14 cts. 
per lb.). Success, in the raising uf pig stock, I found, was to 
be attained only by attention to fully carrying out the fol- 
lowing principles — viz., the accommodation for pigs must 
be sunny, dry, sheltered from cold wind, and yet well ven- 
tilated. Their sties being carefully protected on the north, 
east, and west sides, and open only on the south ; so that 
whilst no cold winds can liave access, there should be no 
obstruction to the sun shining in and on to their beds. 
The pigs must be regularly and carefully attended ; suf- 
ficient should be kept to wholly occupy their attendant's 
time, and to them should that attendant's time and atten- 
tion be wholly given. An old man is better than a young 
one ; and this is an office suited to one infirm or [)ast gen- 
eral labor. The sows must never be permitted to farrow 
earlier than the end of March, nor later than October. The 
cold of winter is fatal to many farrows, and young pigs 
are ill able to bear up against it. Provide roots (potatoes, 
kohlrabi, swedes, carrots, and mangel wurzel) for their 
keep, aided with boiled com, from September to June ; 
and tares, clover, beans, and maize, green, from May to 
September. Breed from large, strong sows, with boars 
of the finer breed, having in view the gaining of large far- 
rows, good nursing, and a rapid attainment of weight ; 
look to the mother for nursing, and the father to correct 
coarseness of form in the mother. Attached to the sties 
liave a boiling-house with copper and food cisterns ; and 
in front of the sties a yard for the pigs to be turned into. 
Attention to these points makes all the difference between 
profit and loss." 

The point in Mr. Davis' statement to which we wish to 
call particular attention is this : " Breed from large, 
strong sows, with boars of the finer breed, having in view 
the gaining of large farrows, good nursing, and a rapid 



32 HARRIS OK THE PIG. 

attainment of weight ; look to the mother for nursing, 
and the father to correct coai-seness of form in the mother." 

In other words, aim to get the digestive powers of the 
large breed in the body of a small, highly refined pig. 
Increase the supply of food and lessen the demand upon 
it for everything except the foi'mation of flesh and fat. 

It will be found that, conscioiisly or unconsciously, all 
the eminently successful pig feeders have aimed to attain 
this result. 

The question of Large vs. Small Breeds, therefore, can 
only be answered by taking these objects into considera- 
tion. We need both breeds. The large breed to give us 
sows, and the small breed to give us boars. It is a mis- 
take to refine ajid reduce the size of the large breed, and 
then to breed from these " improved " pigs of the large 
breed. To i:)roduce pigs merely for the butcher, we should 
resort to crosses with a large, vigorous, unpampered sow 
put to the finest, thorough-bred boar of the small breeds 
that can be obtained. The larger the sow and the smaller 
the boar, the more will the little pigs be able to eat in pro- 
portion to their size, and the greater will be their growth 
in proportion to the food consumed. 

Mr. John Coate, a breeder of "Improved Dorsets," who 
took the Gold Medal, five years in succession, at the Smith- 
field Club Show, for the best pair of pigs, says : 

" Crosses answer well for profit to the dairyman, as you 
get more constitution and quicker growth.'''' 

One of the most extensive formers in West Norfolk 
writes to Mr. Sidney: "The cross between the Berks boar 
and Norfolk sow (white), like all cross breedSy is most 
profitable to the feeder, >)ut we must have pure breeds 
first." And Mr. S. adds : " This Norfolk ojiinion is con- 
firmed by all my correspondents. The Berkshire pig is 
in favor in every dairy district, either pure or as a cross, 
but chiejly as a c?'Oss." 

Again, the same author says: "The Improved Essex is 



LARGE VS. SMALL BREEDS AND CROSSES. 33 

one of the best pigs of the small black breeds, well calcu- 
lated for producing pork and hams of the finest quality 
for fashionable markets ; but its greatest value is as a cross 
for giving quality and maturity to black pigs of a coarser, 
hardier kind. It occupies, witli respect to the black 
breeds, the same position that the small Cumberland- Yorks 
do as to tlie white breeds — that is to say, an improved 
Essex boar is sure to improve the produce of any large 
dark sow." 

Again : " The Berkshire breed have benefited much 
from the impioved Essex cross. The best Devonshire 
pigs have a large infusion of this strain. The improved 
Doi'sets, the most successful black pigs ever shown at the 
Smithfield Club Shows, have borrowed their heads, at 
least from the Boxted [Essex] breed." 

A Bedfordshire farmer writes : " The Woburn breed 
described by Youatt was a good sort of pig, of no partic- 
ular character, except great aptitude to fatten. They 
were discontinued in consequence of the sows being very 
bad sucklers, in favor of a cross-bred animal, the produce 
of Berkshire sows and white Sufiblk boars, the best that 
could be got. These are prolific, of good quality, can be 
fed at any age and to a fair medium weiglit. A cross 
like this pays the farmer best." 

Mr. Thomas Wright says, the cross of the Berkshire 
with the Tamworth "produces the most profitable bacon 
pigs in the kingdom, the Berkshire blood giving an extra- 
ordinary tendency to feed, and securing the early maturity 
in Avhich alone the Tamworth breed is deficient. The 
cross of the Berkshire boar with large white sows has been 
found to produce most satisfactory i-esults to plain farm- 
ers." 

The editor of the work from which these extracts are 

made says, that the current of opinion among English 

farmers, both as regards sheep and pigs, is towards crosses. 

" Breeding pure-bred stock pays well as a separate busi- 

2* 



34 HARRIS OlSr THE PIG. 

ness, if judiciously conducted; but the ordinary tenant 
farmer will generally find that a cross-bred sheep, a cross- 
bred pig, and even a cross-bred ox, in the Jirst cross, fat- 
tens more profitably than a pure-bred animal." 

That this is the general opinion among practical farmers 
there can be no doubt. But there is no advantage in 
crossing merely for the sake of crossing. There should 
be an object in view. "We should aim to improve the 
form, early maturity and fattening qualities of the off- 
spring. In doing this, the tendency always is towards 
reducing the size. Balcewell reduced the size of the Lei- 
cester sheep, and Ellman of the Southdowns. Fisher 
Hobbs reduced the size of the original Essex pigs by using 
Lord "Western's Neapolitan-Essex boars on selected Essex 
sows of large size, with good constitutions, and enormous 
eaters. The Berkshire pig was originally " a much larger 
and coarser animal than now." The small Leicesters were 
" the great improvers of the gigantic Yorks." 

" "What, then," it may be asked, " have we gained by the 
improvement?" — We have gained this: While the size to 
which the animal would attain atmaturity has been reduced, 
yet we can get a much greater Aveight, with loss offal, in 
a given time, and with a far less consumption of food. 
An improved Essex pig at three years old will not weigh 
as much as the original unimproved pig at the same age, 
and with the same food. But at one year old the improv- 
ed Essex can be made to weigh as much as the other woidd 
at eighteen months or two years. They have, or onrjht 
to have, the digestive powers of the large, old breed, com- 
bined with the small bones, little ofial, early maturity, 
and fattening qualities of the Neapolitan Essex. They 
can eat a large quantity of food, and convert it rapidly 
into pork of the highest quality. 

We say they ought to be great eaters, and have power- 
ful digestive organs. But the high feeding necessary to 
develop the fattening qualities in a l^reed, is apt to Aveaken 



THE VALUE OF A THOROUGH-BRED PIG. 35 

the digestive organs ; and it is best, in raising pigs for the 
Dutchers, to breed from large, liealthy, vigorous sows, and 
a thorougli-bred higldy refined boar of a small breed. 
Such a cross will fiirnish grades that wUl eat more and 
fatten more rapidly than the thorough-breds. 

To cross thorough-breds is absurd. There is nothing to 
be gained by it that cannot be obtained by breeding from 
common or grade sows with a thorough-bred boar; be- 
sides thorough-breds are always more costly than common 
stock or grades. That a cross, for instance, between a 
thorough-bred, highly refined Essex boar and a thorough- 
bred Berkshire sow would afford healthier, hardier, and 
more profitable pigs for the butcher than either thorough- 
bred Essex or thorough-bi'ed Berkshires, may be true. 
It is not an easy matter to maintain the health and high 
character of any of our improved breeds. In-and-in- 
breeding, especially with pigs, leads to degeneracy ; and 
all pig breeders find it necessary to introduce a new strain 
of blood, either from animals bred distinct on their own 
farm, or, what is considered better, from the same breed 
kej)t in another section of country. By judicious selection, 
in this way, the breed can be maintained or improved. 
For the same reason, a cross between two distinct breeds, 
may give a litter of pigs better than either of the parents. 
But this is not only an expensive way of raising pigs for 
the butcher, but equally good, if not better pigs can be ob- 
tained by using a thorough-bred boar on grade, or common 
sows, selected with judgment. 



CHAPTER YI. 

THE VALUE OF A TIIOROUGH-BRED PIG. 

It cannot be denied that many farmers in the United 
States have purchased thorough-bred pigs, and after keep- 
ing them a few years, have given them up in disgust. One 



36 HARRIS OJ!^ THE PIG. 

cause of this result may be found in the erroneous ideas 
prevalent in regard to the object of keeping impi'oved 
thorough-bred animals. No farmer could afford to heep a 
herd of high-bred Duchess Shorthorns simply for the pur- 
pose of raising beef for the butcher. Their vahie consists 
in their capacity to convert a large amount of highly 
nutritious food into a large amount of valuable beef, and 
in the power they have oj' transmitting this quality to their 
offspring when crossed with ordinary cows. It is in this 
last respect that pedigree is so imj^ortant. But the former 
quality is due in a great degree to persistent high feeding 
for several generations. Were they submitted to ordinary 
food and treatment, especially when young, they would 
rapidly deteriorate. But put one of these splendid Short- 
horn bulls to a carefully selected ordinary cow, and we 
get a gi-ade Shorthorn that, with ordinary good feed and 
treatment, will prove highly profitable for the butcher. 

The same is true of improved thorough-bred pigs. 
Their valuable qualities have been produced by persistent 
high feeding, and by selecting from their offspring those 
best adapted to high feeding. Pigs that grew slowly were 
rejected, while those which grew rapidly and matured 
early were reserved to breed from. In this way these quali- 
ties became established in the breed; and these qualities 
cannot be maintaiaed without good care and good feeding. 

In the case of pigs, we could well afford to give the 
necessary food to fatten thorough-bred pigs for the butch- 
er. But we cannot afford to raise the young thorough- 
breds for this purpose. This would be true, even if we could 
buy thorough-bred sows and boars to breed from, at the 
price of ordinary pigs. The reason we cannot afford to 
raise highly refined, thorough-bred pigs for ordinary pur- 
poses, is, that if we feed them as they must be fed to 
maintain their qualities, they are apt to become too fat 
for breeding ; and if we feed and treat them as ordinary 
slow-growiag pigs are treated and fed, they lose the qual- 



GOOD PIGS NEED GOOD CARE. 37 

ities which it is the object of the breeder to perpetuate. 
To raise highly improved, thorough- bred pigs, requires 
more care, skill, judgment, and experience than we can 
afford to bestow on animals designed to be sold in a few 
months to the butcher. 

The object of raising improved thorough-bred pigs is 
simply to improve our common stock. They should be 
raised for this purpose, and for this purpose only. The 
farmer should buy a thorough-bred boar from some relia- 
ble, breeder, and select the largest and best sows he has to 
cross him with. A thorough-bred boar at six weeks or two 
months old can usually be bought for |20 or |25. Such a 
boar in a neighborhood is capable of adding a thousand 
dollars a year to the profits of the farmers who use him. 



CHAPTER VIT. 

GOOD PIGS NEED GOOD CARE. 

We have said that an improved thorough-bred boar in 
a neighborhood is capable of greatly improving the quah 
ities of the common stock, and adding largely to the prof 
its of feeding pigs. But it is nevertheless a fact that such 
boars have been used by some farmers with little or no 
benefit'. 

There are several reasons for this : There are farmers in 
every neighborhood who half starve their breeding sows. 
Some of them do this deliberately, from a conviction that 
it improves their breeding and suckling qualities, just as 
some dairymen think a cow must be kept poor if she is to 
be a good milker. They mistake the cause for the effect. 
The cow is thin because she is a good milker, and not a 
good milker because she is thin. So a good sow gets very 
thin in suckling her pigs, but it is a great mistake to keep 
her thin, in order to make her a good breeder and suckler. 



38 IIAEKIS OX THE PIG. 

We have kept thorough-bred boars for some years, and 
have observed that those fanners who are liberal feeders, 
speak highly of the cross, but those who believe in starv- 
ing their sows, and letting the little pigs get their own liv- 
ing, assert that their pigs from a thorough-bred boar are 
no better than those from common boars. 

The trouble is not in the thorough-bred boar, but in the 
sows. We use the improved thorough-bred boar in order 
to obtain jiigs that will grow rapidly. But a pig cannot 
grow rapidly itnless it has a liberal supply of food. 
It would be absurd to buy a superior mill, and then 
condemn it because it would not make choice family 
flour out of bran ; and it is eqiially absurd to expect a pig, 
however perfect in form and fattening qualities, to make 
flesh and fat out of air and water. 

A sow that has been starved all her life cannot produce 
vigorous, healthy pigs of good size, and with a tendency 
to grow rapidly and mature early. To put such a sow to 
an improved, thorough-bred boar, in hopes of getting good 
pigs, is as foolish as it is to hope to raise a large crop of 
choice wheat on wet, poor, neglected land, simply by jDur- 
chasing choice seed. There is no such easy method of 
improving our stock. We must commence by adopting a 
more humane system of feeding, especially while the pigs 
are young. Then select the largest, thriftiest, and best- 
formed sows and put them to a good thorough-bied boar. 
Let the sow be regularly and liberally fed, without mak- 
ing her too fat. When with young she has a natural ten- 
dency to lay uj!) fat, and it sometimes happens that a sow 
gets so fat that her pigs are small, and there is considera- 
ble danger of her lying on them. But there is far less 
danger from having a sow fat than is generally thought. 

After she has pigged, feed the sow on w^-m slops, and 
other food favorable for the production of milk. Let the 
little ones be fed liberally, as soon as they commence to 



GOOD PIGS NEED GOOD CAKE. 39 

eat, and then the beneficial effect of using a good thor- 
ough-bred boar will be seen, 

" But," it may be asked, " will not such liberal feeding 
produce good pigs without using a thorough-bred boar ?" 
It will certainly jiroduce better pigs than the starving 
system. But the effect of an improved tliorough-bred 
boar in such a case is wonderful. We would rather pay 
$5 apiece for such pigs at two months old, than to accept 
as a gift, pigs from the same sow get by a common boar. 
At a year old we should expect the grades, in proportion 
to the food consumed, to bring at present prices, at least 
$10 a head more than the common stock. 

We have a neighbor who is a good farmer, and who 
takes delight in feeding a good pen of pigs every fall and 
early winter. He " did not believe " in thorough-breds, 
and always spoke of my Essex, Berkshires, and Suffolks, 
as "nice little pigs." After watching the effect of a cross 
with good-sized common sows, he finally concluded to 
bring a young sow to one of our Essex boars. She was 
16 months old, and certainly would not weigh over 120 
lbs. It Avas then our turn to speak of little pigs. It so 
happened that we had a grade Essex sow the same age 
that accidentally took the boar at nine months old, and 
had a litter of nine pigs. She was very fat, and lay upon 
three of them. The remaining six were as handsome pigs 
as could be desired. These six pigs we sold at two 
months old, for feeding, for $3.5, and the sow, in a month 
after they were weaned, was killed, and dressed over 300 
lbs., woi'th at the time 14 cts. ]ier lb. or $42. Here then 
were two sows of the same age, one of Avhich brought in 
$77, and the other at a liberal estimate was not worth 
$20. The difference was due simply to the use of a thor- 
ough-bred boar, and to liberal feeding. The one was half 
starved, under the mistaken imj^ression that such treatment 
was best for breeding sows. The mother of the other 
was liberally fed, and her little ones Averc never starved. 



40 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

During the summer, however, they had nothing but the 
wash and milk from the house, and the run of a good 
clover pasture. On this, the whole litter kept quite fat, 
and with the exception of this one sow, that proved to be 
with pig, were sold the first of October to the butcher, 
without having had any corn or grain of any kind for sev- 
eral months. The sow alluded to above, out of this litter, 
received the same treatment ; but in a week or ten days 
after she pigged, we commenced to fatten her, and never did 
sucking pigs thrive better ; and when they were weaned, 
the sow was actually fat, and in a month afterwards was 
veiy fat. 

Now there is nothing remarkable in all this. We have 
had pigs do very much better, because better fed. But 
it certainly enabled us to sUence the sneers of a prejudiced 
farmer against liberal feeding and thorough-bred pigs. 

Another case deserves to be mentioned, showing the 
importance of liberal feeding in the case of well-bred pigs. 
One of our neighbors, a city man, who believed in good 
breeds and good feeding, had a common sow of good size 
and pretty fair form. He put her to a thorongh-bred 
Prince Albert SuiFolk boar, and had a litter of capital pigs. 
He afterwards put her to a thorough-bred Essex boar. But 
by tliis time, he got tired of farming, and at the sale, tliis 
sow was purchased by another neighbor who half starved 
her. She had a fair litter of pigs sometime in October. 
During the winter they had a little wash from the house 
and what they could pick up in a yard where cows receiv- 
ed little or nothing but straw. The next summer they 
had the run of the roadside, with yokes around their necks 
to keep them out of mischief A meaner and more ut- 
terly forlorn lot of pigs it has never been our lot to see. 
And tliis good man attributed his ill-luck to our thorough- 
bred boar ! 

In one sense he was right. The sow had been accus- 
tomed to liberal feeding, and the boar was descended from 



ORIGIN AND IMPROVEMENT OF OUR DOMESTIC PIGS. 41 

stock which, since the clays of Lord Western and Fisher 
Hobbs, had been bred for the purpose of rapidly convert- 
ing all the food they could eat into choice pork. No won- 
der that such a litter of pigs would not stand starvation 
as well as those more accustomed to it. Had the sow and 
the litter of pigs been liberally fed, they would have 
brought more money, with pork at 14 cts. per lb., than 
he received that year from his whole farm of 100 acres ! 



CHAPTER VHI. 

THE ORIGIN AND IMPROVEMENT OF OUR DOMESTIC PIGS. 

Nathusius has shown that all the known breeds of pigs 
may be divided in two great groups : one resembling, in 
all important respects and no doubt descended from, the 
common wild boar ; so that this may be called tlie Sus 
scrqfa group. The otlier group differs in several import- 
ant and constant osteological characters ; its wild, parent- 
form is unknown ; the name given to it by Nathusius, ac- 
cording to the law of priority, is Sus Indica^ of Pallas. 
This name must now be followed, though an unfortunate 
one, as the wild aboriginal does not inhabit India, and 
the best known domesticated breeds have been imported 
from Siam and China.* 

Wild hogs still exist in various parts of Central and 
Northern Europe. The wild boar is described as having 
large tusks, a stronger snout, and a longer head than the 
domestic pig ; smaller ears, pointed and upright ; in color, 
when full grown, always black. He does not attain his 
full growth under four or five years, and will live for 



* Darwin Animals and Plants Under Domestication, Vol. 1, page 85 



*2 



IIAEraS ON TliK PIG. 




ORIGIN AND IMPROVEMENT OF OUR DOMESTIC PIGS. 43 

twenty or tliirty years. The sow breeds only once a year, 
and has seldom more than five or six at a litter ; suckles 




Fig. 3. — WILD BOAR. 



them three or four months, and does not allow them to 
leave her until they are two or three years old, and able 




Fig. 4. — ORIGINAL OLD ENGLISH PIG. 

to defend themselves. Occasionally they grow to a great 
size, but usually they are not as large as the domestic pig. 



44 HAKEIS ON THE PIG. 

The engravings in different parts of the book are, many 
of them, selected from different works, for the purpose of 
illustrating the changes which have been Avrought in the 
hog by domestication, breeding, etc. 

Great improvements have been effected by skillful 
breeders in the form of cattle and sheep, but we think 
these illustrations will show, that far greater improvement 
has been effected in the form of the pig than in any other 
animal. The picture of the " original old English pig" 
(fig. 4), shows a decided improvement in form over the 
Wild Boar (fig. 3). It has shorter legs, shorter head and 




Fig. 5. — OLD IHISH PIG. From Richardson. 
snout, heavier cheeks, a straighter and broader back, and 
larger hams. It will weigh more, in proportion to size, 
and afford more meat and less offal than the wild hog. 

The engraving of the old Irish " Greyhound Hog " (fig. 
5), shows an intermediate form between the wild and do- 
mestic animal. Richardson, from whose work the picture is 
taken, describes them as follows : " These are tall, long- 
legged, bony, heavy-eared, coarse haired animals ; their 
throats furnished with pendulous wattles, and by no 
means possessing half so much the appearance of domes- 
tic swine as they do of the wild boar, the great original 



IMPROVEMElirT OF THE ENGLISH BREEDS OF PIGS. 45 

of the race. In Ireland, the old gaunt race of hogs has, 
for many years past, been gradually wearing away, and is 
now, perhaps, wholly confined to the western parts of the 
country, especially Galway. These swine are remarkably 
active, and Avill clear a five-barred, gate as well as any 
hunter ; on this account they should, if it is desirable to 
keep them, be kept in well-fenced, inclosures." 

The picture of the " original old English pig " shows 
that great improvement can be made merely by regular 
feeding and judicious selection ; but it must be remem- 
bered that probably it took hundreds of generations to 
efiect the change indicated in the engravings. That it 
could have been efiected in a much shorter time, is undoubt- 
edly true. But the fact remains that, centuries after the 
wild pigs had generally disappeared from the Island, the 
domestic pig derived from them was still a very coarse, 
slow maturing, and unprofitable animal. 

The French and Germans, as compared with the Eng- 
lish, have made but little improvement in the breeds of 
pigs, and many of the animals to be found upon the Con- 
tinent are very much like the old English hog, bony, tall, 
gaunt, wiry-haired, and slow to fatten. On page 46 we 
give a portrait of a Craonnaire boar, which took a prize at 
a French agricultural show in 1856. 



46 



HARKIS ON THE PIG. 




IMPROVEMKNT OF TUE ENGLISH BREEDS OF PIGS. 47 

CHAPTER IX. 

IMPROVEMENT OF THE ENGLISH BREEDS OF PIGS. 

The improvement in the breeds of pigs has kept pace 
with the improvem,ent in general agriculture. High 
breeding is profitable when accompanied witli high feed- 
ing and high farming; but a highly refined animal is not 
suited to a rude, primitive system of agriculture. The Eng- 
lish breeds of pigs to-day, as compared Avith those of half a 
century ago, do not show greater improvement than is 
found in the general system of farming. There are still 
poor farmers in England, and there are also poor breeds 
of pigs ; but it must be admitted that we can find in 
England the best specimens of high farming, and the best 
specimens of well-bred cattle, sheep, and pigs ; and as 
good culture is raj^idly becoming more general, there is 
an increasing demand for improved breeds, at high prices. 
There can be no doubt that the general improvement in 
agriculture, and the more general demand for improved 
breeds has gi-eatly stimulated the efforts of the j^rofes- 
sional pig breeders; and it is doubtless true that several 
of the English breeds of pigs are to-day superior in form, 
early maturity, and fattening qualities, than any other 
breed in the world. 

The early English breeders made great improvements, 
but being ahead of their times, they met with compara- 
tively little demand for their improved pigs, and no ade- 
quate remuneration for their sldll and labor. 

It is not necessary to review the means employed by 
the breeders of the last century to improve the English 
breeds of pigs. Suffice it to say that it is generally ad- 
mitted that much of this improvement is due to crossing 
the large English sows with the highly refined Chinese 
boars, and in selecting from the offspring such animals as 



48 



HAEPwIS ON THE PIG. 



possessed, in the greatest degree, the form and qualities 
desii-eJ. By continued selection, and " weeding out," 
the breed at length became established. 

The Improved Berkshire is one of the earliest and best 
known of these Chinese-English breeds. 

The old Berkshire hog had maintained a high reputa- 
tion for centuries. It is described as " long and crooked 




Fig. 7. — IMPORTED CHINESE SOW 

snouted, the muzzle turning upwards; the ears large, 
heavy, and inclined to be pendulous ; the body long and 
thick, but not deep ; the legs short, the bone large, and 
the size very great." It was probably the best pig in 
England, and was wisely selected as the basis of those re- 
markable improvements which have rendered the modern 
Berkshire so justly celebrated. 

It would be interesting to trace the different steps in 
this astonishing improvement, but, unfortunately, the neo- 



IMPKOVEMENT OP THE ENGLISH EKEEDS OF PIGS. 49 



essary information cannot be obtained. We give four en- 
gravings from Loudon's Encyclopedia of Agriculture, the 




Fiyr. 8. — Berkshire pig. 



first edition of which appeared in 1825, which will give 
some idea of the change that has been effected. Figure 8 




Fisr. 9. — HAMPSHIRE PIG. 



is the Berkshire pig, as represented by Loudon, which is 
stated to represent " one of the best of its kind," and there 
can be little doubt that it was taken from what was con- 



50 



HARRIS OJT THE PIG, 



sidered a good specimen of the "breed at the time the work 
was written. As compared with the figure of the old origi- 
nal English pig, and also with those of Hampshire, Here- 
fordsliire, and Suffolk, given by Loudon (figs. 9, 10, and 
■11), it is easy to trace the influence of the Chinese cross. 
Loudon speaks of the Berkshire, at that time, as a small 
breed, and it is undoubtedly true that the first eflTect of 
an improvement in the fattening qualities and early ma- 
turity of an animal is to reduce the size. On the whole, 
this picture of an improved Berkshire, forty-five or fifty 
years ago, does not give one a very favorable idea of the 




Fig. 10. — HEKEFOKDSHIRE PIG. 

breed at that time ; yet it was then probably the best 
bred pig in England, Comparing this engraving with the 
one given by Youatt (fig. 12), in 1845, and Avith those given 
by Sydney in 18G0 (figs. 20 and 21), we can form some 
idea of the remarkable effects of judicious breeding and 
high feeding. The engraving, figure 12, indicates the 
effect of a cross with the Chinese; the others show 
what can be done by persistent efforts in improving 
a breed of a mixed origin. It is highly probable that 



IMPROVEMENT OF THE ENGLISH BEEEDS OP PIGS. 51 

boars of the improved Chinese-Berkshires, after the breed 
had become established, were employed to cross with the 




Fig. 11. — SUFFOLK PIG. 

large, old Berkshire sows, and that the effect of this less 




Fig. 13. — BERKSHIRE SOW. 

violent cross was more beneficial than the direct use of 



52 HARRIS ON^ THE PIG. 

the pure Chinese. Certain it is, tliat the pure Chinese 
pigs are now seldom, if evei", resorted to by English 
breeders. They find it more advantageous to resort to 
pure-bred boars of some of their own established breeds, 
although there is probably none of these breeds that have 
not, at one time or other, been crossed with the Cliinese. 
It is a mistake, however, to speak of them, on this ac- 
count, as "cross-bred " pigs, as is sometimes done. They 
have been bred pure long enough to become fully estab- 
lished. 

The history of the Improved Essex Pig is of great in- 
terest, because better authenticated than that of any other 
breed. 

The old Essex breed is described by Loudon as " up- 
eared, with long, sharp heads, roach-backed, carcasses 
flat, long, and generally high upon the leg, bone not large, 
color, white, or black and white, bare of haii', quick feed- 
ers, but great consumers, and of an unquiet disposition." 

Lord "Western, while travelmg in Italy, saw some Nea- 
politan pigs, and came to the conclusion that they were 
just what he wanted to improve the breed of Essex pigs. 
He describes them, in a letter to Earl Spencer, as " a 
breed of very peculiar and valuable qualities, the flavor 
of the meat being excellent, and the disposition to fatten 
on the smallest quantity of food unrivaled." He pro- 
curred a pair of thorough-bred Neapolitans, and crossed 
them with Essex sows, and probably with black Sussex 
and Berkshires. He obliterated the white from the old 
Essex, and obtained a breed of these cross-bred pigs that 
could scarcely be distinguished from the pure-bred Nea- 
politans. 

These Neapolitan-Essex had great success at agricul- 
tural fairs, but as Lord Western continued to breed fi'om 
his own stock, selecting the most highly refined males 
and females, they " gradually lost size, muscle, and con- 
stitution, and consequently fecundity ; and at the time 



IMPROVEMENT OF THE ENGLISH BREEDS OF PIGS. 53 

of his death, in 1844, while the whole district had bene- 
fited from the cross, the Western breed had become 
more ornamental than useful." 

In other words, wliile this highly refined breed was of 
great value to cross with the large, vigorous sows in the 
neighborhood, they were not profitable to raise pure. 
This is the case with all highly refined, thorough-bred 
pigs. They are not as profitable for the mere production 
of pork as the pigs from the common sow and a thorough- 
bred boar. It is as true to-day as it was then, that any 
highly refined throrough-bred pigs are " more ornamental 
than useful," unless farmers know how to use them ; 
then they are of great value. In the meantime, a tenant 
farmer of Lord Western, the late Fisher Hobbs, of Box- 
ted Lodge, had availed himself of the opportunity to use 
the thorough-bred Neapolitan-Essex boars belonging to 
Lord Western, and crossed them with the large, strong, 
hardy, black, and rather rough and coarse Essex sows, 
and in process of time he established the breed, since be- 
come so famous — the Improved Essex. 

The difference between the two breeds is shown by the 
engraving of one of Lord Western's Neapolitan-Essex 
boars (fig. 23), drawn for the first edition of Youatt on the 
Pig, and that of " Emperor " (fig. 22), an eight-year-old 
Improved Essex working boar, taken in 1860 for Sidney's 
last editiod; of Youatt on the Pig. 

Sidney, in his last edition of Youatt, says : " The Im- 
proved Essex probably date their national reputation from 
the second show of the Royal Agricultural Society, held 
at Cambridge, in 1840, wlien a boar and sow, both bred 
by Mr. Hobbs, each obtained first prizes in their respec- 
tive classes. 

" Early maturity, and an excellent quality of flesh, are 
among the merits of the improved Essex. They j^roduce 
the best 'jointers' for the London market. With age 
they attain considerable weight, and often make 500 lbs. 



54 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

at twenty-four montlis old. ' Emperor ' (fig. 22) is 2 ft. 
8:^ in, high at the shoulder, and 6 ft. 1 in. long. Boars 
bred at Boxted have been known to roach 3G in. in height. 

"The defect of the improved Essex is a certain delicacy, 
probably arising fiora their southern descent, and an ex- 
cessive aptitude to fatten, whicli, unless carefully counter- 
acted by exercise and diet, often diminishes the fertility 
of the sows, and causes difficulty in reai'ing the young. 
As before observed, they are invaluable as a cross, being 
sure to give quality and early maturity to any breed, and 
especially valu.ible when applied to a black breed where 
porkers are required. For this purpose they have been 
extensively and successfully used in all tlie black pig dis- 
tricts of this country [Great Britain], v\-here, ns well as in 
France and Germany, and in tiic United States, they have 
superseded the use of the imported Neapolitan and Chinese. 
Many attempts, on a limited scale, to perpetuate the breed 
j)ure, have been unsatisfactory, because it is too pure to 
stand in-and-in breeding. They require much care when 
young. ' In the sows the paternal fattening properties 
are apt to overl^alance the milking qualities, and make 
tliem bad nurses.' 

" The Berkshire breed have benefited much from the 
improved Essex cross. The best Devonshire pigs have a 
large infusion of the same strain. The improved Dorsets, 
the most successful Ijlack pigs ever shown at the Smith- 
field Club shows, have borrowed their Iieads at least from 
the Essex breed. The improved Oxfords are the I'esidt 
of a judicious blending of pure Neapolitan, Berksliire, 
and improved Essex blood ; and throughout the midland 
and western counties, the results of Lord Western's 
Italian tour are to be found in every parish where a black 
pig is patronized. 

" The history of this breed affords a good illustration of 
the advantages of the system under which landlords, 
stimulated by patriotism or comi^etition, or mere love of 



IMPEOVEMENT OP THE ENGLISH BEEEDS OF PIGS. 55 

tilings agricultural, breed and experiment with great zeal, 
varied success, and little or no profit, until they reach the 
point where the tenant farmer, with sufficient capital, 
equal zeal, and a clear eye to the £. s. d., takes up the 
work, breeds, and works the problem out Avith a degree 
of practical knowledge, personal attention, and enthusi- 
asm, which few, except farmers breeding for a profit, can 
contrive to combine, and persevere to bestow for a long 
series of years. 

" Foreign governments endeavor, with very limited suc- 
cess, to produce the effect of our aristocratic breeding 
enthusiasts by government studs. But an official, however 
gilded, titled, or crossed, has never the influence of a peer 
or squii-e ; and besides his name, the raw materials — the 
working bees, the great tenant farmers — are wanting on 
the continent. 

" The improved Essex are ranked amongst the small 
breeds, and there they are most profitable ; but exception- 
al specimens have been exhibited at agricultural shows in 
the classes for large breeds, as, for instance, at Chelms- 
ford, in 1856. 

"There is probably no black pig which combines more 
good qualities, as either porker or bacon hog, than the 
produce of an improved Essex boar and an improved 
Berkshire sow." 

The facts here narrated are of great importance as il- 
lustrating the principles of breeding which we have en- 
deavored to \a,y down in the first chapters of this work. 
The old Essex pigs wer-e great eaters. All the authorities 
mention this fact as one of the objections to the breed. 
The Lord Western Essex were highly refined pigs, of 
good form, little offal, maturing very early, and fattening 
with great rapidity, but destitute of size and vigor. 
Crossed with selected sows of the old, hardy, vigorous 
race, the offspring possessed the form, early maturity, and 
fattening qualities of the improved breed, united Avith the 



56 HAKKIS ON THE PIG. 

constitution of the common stock. Tbey bad the stomach 
of the mother, and the refinement of the sire. No won- 
der that they " have an excessive aptitude to fatten." 
What else can they do with the large amount of food 
they are capable of eating and digesting except to convert 
it into flesh and fat ? There is a minimum of oflal in this 
breed, and they are exceedingly quiet. There is little 
demand on the large quantity of food they can eat, and 
nearly the whole of it must be converted into flesh and 
fat ; and we have endeavored to show the immense ad- 
vantage of having an animal that will consume a consid- 
erable excess of food over and above that required to 
sustain the vital functions. lu this view of the matter it 
is easy to see why the Improved Essex proved such a use- 
ful breed in the bands of intelligent farmers. 

Many other similar instances of the improvement of 
English breeds might be given, hut it is not necessary to 
do so. Tlie principle which underlies them all is the same. 
A large, vigorous, healthy sow, crossed with a highly re- 
fined, thorough-bred boar, and the offspring carefully bred 
until the desired qualities become established in the new 
or improved breed. 



CHAPTER X. 

THE MODEEN BREEDS OF ENGLISH PIGS. 

English writers on swine, twenty years ago, describe a 
dozen or more breeds of pigs, then kept in England, and 
nearly as many more in Scotland and Ireland. Touatt 
and Richardson, both of whose works on the pig were re- 
printed in this country, give a full account of these old 
breeds. Many of these breeds have been, at one time or 
another, introduced into the United States and Canada; 



THE :M0DEKN BUEEDS of ENGLISH PIGS. 57 

Lilt comparatively" few of them have been kept pure, 
either here or in England. The common stock of pigs in 
America is made up of these old breeds. Occasionally 
"we see a pig that has some distinct characteristics recog- 
nizable as belonging to some known breed, but, as a gen- 
I oral rule, it is impossible to trace the slightest resemblance 
to any distinct breed, either of the past or the present. 

The same is true, to a considerable extent, in England. 
The common stock of pigs is of such a mixed character, 
that it can be traced to uo particular breed. Many of the 
old breeds have become extinct. We have so-called 
"Clieshire " pigs in America, but there is no such breed 
raised or known in Cheshire, and has not been for twenty 
years or moi"e. 

Culley, in his work entitled " Observations on Live- 
stock," published in 1807, gives a well authenticated ac- 
count of a Cheshire pig which measured, from the nose 
to the end of the tail 9 feet, 8 inches, and in height, 4 
feet, 5^ inches. When alive, it weighed 1,410 lbs., and 
when dressed, 1,215 lbs. The age is not given. It Avas 
probably as fat as it could be made, and yet it only 
dressed 80^ per cent of its live weight. 

This breed, if we may call it a breed, was evidently 
very large and coarse. It is described as " remarkably 
long, standing very high, on long, bony legs ; head large, 
ears long and hanging; back much curved, and narrow; 
sides flat and deep ; color white, blue and white, black 
and white." This breed has become extinct. 

The old Yorkshire or Lincolnshire breed is described in 
' Morton's Cyclopedia as "one of the largest breeds in 
the kingdom, and probably one of the worst ; extremely 
long-legged, and weak loined ; very long from head to 
tail ; color chiefly white, with long, coarse, curly hair ; 
tolerable feeders, but yielding a coarse, flabby flesh, of in- 
ferior marketable quality." 

It is from this race of pigs that the modern Yoikshire, 
3* 



58 



HARRIS ON TllK PKl. 



k 



mm. 




THE MODERN BIIEEDS OF ENGLISH PIGS. 59 

now perliaps the most popular breed in England, has been 
derived. This breed is divided into three classes: the 
Large, Medium, and Small. 

THE LAKGE TORKSHiRES. — (Figs. 13, 14 and 15.) 

We have shown what the old Lincolnshire and York- 
shire pig was before any especial efforts had been made to 
improve it. In 1854, Mr. A. Clarke, of Long Sutton, 
Lincolnshire, the autlior of a valuable treatise on the 
breeding and management of pigs in Morton's Cy- 
clopedia of Agi-iculture, writes : " In the adjoining county 
of Yorkshire the breeders have outdone the Lincolnshire 
breeders in point of size, but not in any other respect. 
The &23ecimens lately exhibited at our meetings, of the 
large Yorkshire breed, by Messrs. Abbot, Taylor, Tuley, 
and others, have attained a size too large for any useful 
purpose, and would exceed in weight that of a moderately 
grown Scotch ox. The present taste of the public is de- 
cidedly set against such an overgrown sort ; at present, 
however, they make large prices." We believe there ia 
now no breed known as the Lincolnshire. It has been 
merged in the Yorkshire. 

Of the old, unimproved large Yorkshire, Sidney 
says : " It was a long time coming to full size, and 
could be fed up to 800 lbs., but whether with any profit, 
is doubtful. It was and is still very hardy, and a very 
prolific breeder. Attempts have been made to imj^rove it 
by crossing with the Berkshire, Essex, Neapolitan, and 
other black breeds, which produced a black and white 
race. Those from the Berkshire are a hardy, useful sort, 
but fatten slowly ; the other crosses have little or no l)air, 
are too delicate for the North, and are fast wearing out. 

" The first step taken in the right direction for improv- 
ing the old Yorkshire seems to have been the introduction 
of the White Leicestcrs. These were a large sort, with 



60 



HARRIS ON THE PIG. 




THE MODERN BREEDS OF ENGLISH PIGS. Gl 

smaller heads than the old York, erect ears, finer in the 
hau", and lighter in the bone. 

" The improvement in the York large breed commenced 
early in the century, "when the White Leicesters were in- 
troduced. The general run of pigs in the grain-giowing 
districts of Yorkshire shows that they partake more or 
less of this cross. The old sort is seldom seen except .in 
the northern part of the county." 

A Yorkshire correspondent of Mr. Sidney, writing in 
1860, says " The Leicester cross has been still further im- 
proved by i^utting the largest and best sows of the Lei- 
cester cross to boars of the small white breed from Castle 
Howard* and Bransbyf, breeding from the progeny, and 
selecting the largest and best of the young sows and the 
best formed boars for that purpose, taking care that they 
were not too nearly related. By this means the size and 
constitution of tlie large breed, with the symmetry and 
tendency to fatten of the small breed, have been, in a 
great degree, transmitted to the oifspring. If a sow shows 
too much of the old sort, she is put to a boar of the small 
breed for her first litter." 

Such seems to have been the origin of the present breed 
of Large Yorkshires. 

" These improved Large Yorkshires," (says Sidney, in 
I860,) "are principally bred in the valley of the Aire, in 
the neighborhood of Leeds, Keighley, and Skipton. They 
are in great request as breeding stores, and purchased for 
that purpose for every part of the United Kingdom, as 
Avell as for France, Germany, and the United States, at 
■ great prices." 

These pigs " can be fed to 60 stone, of 14 lbs., dead 
weight, or 840 lbs. The Prize Boar at the Royal Agri- 
cultural Fair at Chester weighed, alive, 1,232 lbs. The 



* The Earl of Carlisle. 

t Mr. Wylcy, of Brausby, introduced a small breed of Wliite Leicesters, now 
called Yorkshires. 



62 



HAKKIS ON THE PIG. 




a- I' 



i^M. „ 




THE MODEKN BREEDS OP ENGLISU TIGS. 63 

Prize Sow at the Royal Fair at Warwick, 1,204 lbs. At 
Northallerton, in 1859, the finest lot of large sows ever 
seen in one place were collected together. There were at 
least a dozen, each of whose live weight would not be 
much less than half a ton (1,120 lbs). The Koyal Agri- 
cultural Prize-winner at Norwich Avas only just good 
enough to get second honors." 

Mr. Wainman, the owner of Carhead Farm, has been 
one of the most successful breeders of the Large York- 
shires, having won more than two hundred prizes, and 
sold, in the language of one of his Yorkshire admirers, 
the produce of one sow "for as much as would build a 
church." Mr. Fisher, who is bailiff at Carhead Farm, 
gives the weight of two of these pigs. One, killed at 
less than 7 months, dressed 255 lbs., and one at 12 months 
old, 489 lbs. 

THE SMALL TOEKSHIKES. 

Mr. Mangles, " one of the first pig-breeders and feeders 
in Yorkshire," gives the following description of the Small 
Yorks : " The small Yorkshire is peculiar to Yorkshire, 
and difierent from any other breed I have seen. It has a 
short head, small, erect ears, broad back, deep chest, and 
short legs, with fine bone. It is always ready to fatten, 
and turn to account either in the way of roasters, small 
porkers, small bacon, or medium. Three or four of the 
small breed might be fed well, and kept fresh and sym- 
metrical on the food which would barely keep one lean 
and gaunt large Yorkshire." 

THE SMALL CUMBERLAND, 

" The Cumberland small breed," says Mr. Sidney, " are 
described by Mr. Brown, of Aspatria, who is one of the 
most noted founders of the modern breed, from whom 
Lord Ducie purchased some of his most celebrated animals, 
as not small in reality, but a medium size, short iu the 



64 



H.UiKIS OI^ TUE PIG. 



)A//|/'//i'^/j";!/P)[/MP^^^^ 




THE MODERN BREEDS OF ENGLISH PIGS. 65 

legs, back brOad, straight, and evenly fleshed ; ribs well 
developed, rumps and twists good ; hams well down, and 
low; breast and neck full, and well formed; no creases in 
the neck ; ears clean, fine, of a moderate size, and standing 
a little forward ; nose short ; body evenly covered with 
short, fine hair." 

At the Birmingham show, in 1850, Mr. Brown won all 
first ])rizes in small breeds for the "best boar," "best 
sow," and " best pen of pigs," with his Cumberland 
breed ; and sold a boar and sow under six months old for 
forty-three guineas to Earl Ducie. At the sale, on the 
death of the Enrl, the sow " Miss Brown " was sold to 
the Rev. F. Thursby for sixty-five giiineas. " She paid 
me," he Avrites to Mr. Sidney, " very well, having sold 
her produce for £300, and have now (February, I860,) 
four breeding soavs from her." 

THE YORK-CUMBEKLAKD BREED (fig. 16). 

Mr. Sidney classes the Small Yorkshire and Cumberland, 
together, " because, although originally, they somewhat 
differed in size, — the Cumberland being the larger — they 
are being continually intermixed, with nmtual advantage ; 
and pigs of exactly the same form, the result of crosses, 
are constantly exhibited under the names of Yorkshire or 
Cumberland, according to the fancy of the exhibitor." 

Mr. Mangles writes — " The Small Cumberland is a great 
deal larger than the Small Yorkshire. By judiciously 
crossing the two, I have obtained a breed combining size, 
aptitude to fatten, and early maturity. From the Cum- 
berland I got size, and from the Yorkshire quality and 
symmetry. I have tried a great many breeds of pigs, 
and, keeping the pounds, shillings and pence in view, have 
found no breed equal to the Yorkshire and Cumberland 
cross." 

A Warwickshire correspondent of Mr. Sidney writes: 



GO 



HAKRIS ON THE PIG. 



" No animal of the \ng species carries so great a propor- 
tion of flesh to the quantity of bone, or flesh of as fine a 
quality, as the small Yorkshire, or can l>e raised at so 
small a cost per pound. With common store food they 
can always be kept in condition — with common care, and 
slight addition to food, they are ready to be killed, for 
porklets, at any age ; and if required for bacon, take one 



</^t'i//fr;/A^/ir4j^: 




Fig. 17 



-PKIZE YORK-CUMBERLAND PIG. 

From Farmers' Magazine. 



SMALL BREED. 



farrow of pigs from a yelt.* You ought to have from 
seven to ten pigs the first time. I have four sisters, yelts, 
tbat have brought me thirty-eight j^igs this last January. 
They arc as pure as ' Eclipse,' being descended from the 



* A " yclt " is a young sow before she has had pigs. The idea here is, when it 
is desired to ohtaiii bacou from the small breeds, to take one litter of pigs from 
a young sow, and then fatten her. Ordinarily, it will not pay to keep these pigs 
long enough to make large pork: but if a litter of pigs can be obtained in the 
meantime, it is then very profitable. But if we should contiime to breed from 
pigs of the first litter, tlic size would soon become too small. 



THE MODERX ENGLISH BREEDS OF PIGS. 67 

Stock of Earl Ducie and Mr. Wyley, of Biansby, near 
York, and are of good size, I killed a sow this winter 
that \\eighed 26 score — 520 lbs. 

"The ordinary weight is from 14 to 17 score — 280 lbs. to 
340 lbs. In some cases, where very thick bacon is re- 
quired, they may be profitably got to 30 score — 600 lbs. 
The Small Yorkshire owes its present superiority to 
choice selections, and judicious crossing of difierent fami- 
lies of the same breed ; by this means size is maintained 
with character." 

These " Small Yorkshires " which this gentleman calls 
as " pure as Eclipse," are descended from the stock of 
Earl Ducie and Mr. Wyley ; but, as has been already 
shown, Earl Ducie purchased Cumberland pigs from Mr. 
Brown, and Mr. Wyley's original stock Avere White Lei- 
cesters. 

Mr. Sidney says : " The wide extension of this Cum- 
bei'land and York blood is to be traced wherever the 
Royal Agricultural Society's prizes for white j^igs are won. 

"Thus : — Mr. H. Scott Hayward, of Folkington, a piize- 
winner at Chelmsford, in 1856, in small breeds, with a 
white sow, states that he has used boai'S from the follow- 
ing breeders : — The late Earl of Carlisle, Castle How^ard ; 
the late Earl of Ducie; the Earl of Radnor, Coleshill ; 
and at present (1860) one from the Prince Consort's stock. 

'• The card of Mr. Brown's boar ' Liberator ' contains the 
following pedigrees, and shows a distinct connection be- 
tween Cumberland and Yorkshire, and all the most cele- 
brated white breeds in the south : — 

" ' Liberator ' was bred by Earl Ducie, got by ' Glouces- 
ter,' dam 'Beauty' by Lord Radnor's boar, gr.-d. 'Julia 
Bennett ' by Lord Galloway's boar, etc. 

"'Gloucester' was bred by the Earl of Ducie, got by 
' General,' dam ' Hannah ' by the ' Yorkshireman ;' gr.-d. 
bred by the Earl of Carlisle, and purchased by Lord 
Ducie at the Castle Howard sale. 



68 



HAEKIS ON THB PIG. 




THE MODERN ENGLISH BREEDS OF PIGS. 69 

"'General,' bred by Mr. Wyley, sold to Mr. Mackintosh, 
of London, and hired by H.R.II. Prince Albert, the Earl 
of Ducie, and Lord Wenlock, and was the sire of two 
pens of pigs, the property of H.R.IL Prince Albert, that 
obtained the first prize at a Smithfield Christmas Show. 

" It may, therefore, safely be assumed that all the best' 
white pigs of modern times have been bred from York- 
shire or Cumberland and white Leicesters, or both ; and 
many breeds, such as Middlesex, Coleshill, etc., may be 
dismissed as mere variations of the white small Yorkshire. 

" Mr. G. Mangles, of Givendale, near Ripon, Mr. Brown 
writes me, was one of the first to cultivate the cross of 
the York-Cumberlands." 

THE MIDDLE OR MEDIUM YORKSHIRE BREED (Fig. 18). 

" The Yorkshire medium or middle breed," says Mr. 
Sidney, " is a modern invention of Yorkshire pig-breeders, 
and perhajjs the most useful and the most popular of the 
white breeds, as it unites, in a striking degree, the good 
qualities of the large and the small. It has been produced 
by a cross of the large and the small York, and the Cum- 
berland, which is larger than the small York. Like the 
large whites, they often have a few pale-blue spots on the 
skin, the hair on these spots being white. All white 
breeds have these spots more or less, and they often in- 
crease in number as the animal grows older. 

"It was not until 1851 tliat the merits of this breed were 
publicly recognized at a meeting of the ' Keighley Agri- 
cultural Society,' when, the judges having called the at- 
tention of the stewards to the fact that several superior 
sows, which were evidently closely allied to the small 
breed, had been exhibited in the large-breed class, the 
aspiring intruders were, by ofiicial authority, withdrawn. 

" They included the since celebrated ' Sontag,' ' Jenny 



70 HARRIS OX THE PIG. 

Lind,' ' Kick-up-a-dust,' and some other distinguished 
grunters, forming altogether such an imposing troupe^ that 
the authoi'ities gave them a performance (/. e., a class) to 
themselves, with a benefit in the shape of first and second 
prizes, and called them the ' middle breed.'' 

" This example was generally adopted throughout York- 
shire, and at local shows tliey are the strongest and best- 
filled of all the classes. 

" The i")rinclpal prize-takers amongst the boars in this 
breed have been ' Paris,' ' Nonpareil,' ' Lord Kaglan,' * Sir 
Colin,' and 'Wonder;' and amongst the sows, ' Zenobia,' 
' Lady Airdale,' who held her own during two seasons, in 
one of which she took ten prizes, 'Craven,' 'Lady Kate,' 
' Queen Anne,' and ' Miss MmiJy ' (see portrait), who has 
never found her marrow, having taken nine first prizes in 
succession, including the champion cup at Caldervale show 
in 1859, for the best pig in all classes. This competition 
brought all Yorkshire, several Warwick, Royal Highland 
Society, Dublin and Irish Royal, as well as Cheshire and 
Lancashire champions, to the Cloth Hall, Halifax. 
Amongst the rest, ' Caeswell,' the second winner in the 
large boar class at Warwick, entered in the middle class, 
and carried off the first prize in that class ; but in the 
trial for the championship, he was beaten like the rest, 
and the plate, with the ' white rosette of York,' went to 
* Miss Emily,' whose girth, taken behind the shoulder, 
was at this time eighty-five inches. She fully qualified 
for all the prizes she had taken as a breeding sow, by 
producing at Carhead the following October a fine litter 
of pigs. 

" The middle Yorkshire breed are about the same size as 
the Berkshire breed, but have smaller heads, and are much 
lighter in the bone. They are better breeders than the 
small whites, but not so good as the large whites ; in fact, 
they occupy a position in every respect between these two 
breeds." 



THE MODERTiJ- ENGLISH BREEDS OF PIGS. 



71 




*?2 HAEEIS ON THE PIG. 

WHITE LEICESTEES (Fig. 19). 

We can ascertain nothing satisfactory in regard to the 
origin of this breed of pigs. This is the more to be re- 
gretted as the fact that they were " the great improvers 
of the gigantic Yorks," invests them with more than ordi- 
nary interest. 

Mr. J. W. Williams, of Somersetshire, is the principal 
breeder of White Leicesters. He first exhibited in 1852, 
and has taken the Smithfield Club gold medal, two gold 
medals at the Paris Exjjosition in 1855, and numerous 
other prizes. The portrait of the Paris Prize Leicesters 
is given on page 71 (fig. 19). Mr. Williams states that 
his fat pigs of this breed generally average the following 
weights : 

5 to 6 months, 7 to 9 score lbs 140 to 180 lbs. 

8 " 10 to 13 " " 200 to 240 " 

10 " 13 to 15 " " 240 to 300 " 

12 to 18 " 15 to 18 " " 300 to 360 " 

The pen of three pigs of this breed which received the 
Smithfield Club gold medal in 1854 weighed, sinking offal, 
at 18 weeks old, 180 lbs. each. 

SUFFOLK AND OTHER WHITE BEEEDS. 

Mr Sidney says ; " Yorkshire stands in the first rank 
as a pig-breeding county, possessing the largest white 
breed in England, as well as an excellent medium and 
small breed, all white, the last of which, transplanted into 
the south, has figured and M^on prizes under the names of 
divers noblemen and gentlemen, and more than one 
county. The Yorkshire are closely allied with the Cum- 
berland breeds, and have been so much intermixed that, 
with the exception of the very largest breeds, it is diffi- 
cult to tell where the Cumberland begins, and where the 
Yorkshire ends. It will be enough to say, for the present, 



THE MODERN ENGLISH BREEDS OF PIGS. 73 

that the moderu Manchester boar, the improved Suffolk, 
the improved Middlesex, the Colesliill, and the Prince 
Alberts or Windsors, were all founded on Yorkshire- 
Cumberland stock, and some of them are merely pure 
Yorkshires transplanted, and re-christened." 

Speaking of the pigs kept in the dairy district of 
Cheshire, he says : " White pigs have not found favor 
with the dairymen of Cheshire, and the white ones most 
used are ' Manchester boars,' another name for the York- 
shire-Cumberland breed. ' Mr. Youatt,' he says, in an- 
other place, ' and all the authors who have followed him, 
down to the latest work published on the subject, occupy 
space in describing various county pigs which have long 
ceased to possess, if ever they possessed, any merit worthy 
of the attention of the breeder. Thus the Norfolk, the 
Suffolk, the Bedford, the Rudywick, the Cheshire, the 
Gloucester breed'^, have each a separate notice, not one of " 
which, except the Suffolk, is worthy of cultivation, and 
the Suffolk is only another name for a small YorJcshire 
pig:' 

BLACK BREEDS. 

If all the modern white breeds in England, of any 
special value to the breeder, are Yorksliires, or York- 
Cumberland and Leicesters, it is equally true that there 
are but two breeds of black pigs that deserve any special 
attention — the Essex and Berkshire. 

" Black pigs and their crosses," says Mr. Sidney, " oc- 
cupy almost exclusively the counties of Berks, Hants, 
Wilts, Dorset, Devon, and Somerset. Sussex has a black 
county breed, and in Essex a black-and-white pig has be- 
come all black. In the Western counties, the prejudice 
against a white pig is nearly as strong as against a black 
one in Yorkshire. In Devonshire, white pigs are supposed 
to be more subject to blistering from the sun when pas- 
turing in the fields. 
4 



74 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

" For breeding j^urposes, the black breeds may be divided 
into two — the improved Berkshire and the improved 
Essex, because there is no dark breed that has special 
characteristics so well worth cultivation as these two, and 
there is no black pig that may not be advantageously 
crossed by boars of one or both of these breeds. Hamp- 
shire has an ancient, coarse, and useful breed of black 
pigs. They are inferior to Berkshire, and not in tlie same 
refined class as Essex, therefore not worth taking from 
their native county" 

BERKSHIRE. 

" Among the black breetls," says Mr. Sidney, " by uni- 
versal consent, the improved Berkshire hog stands at the 
head of the list, either to breed pure, or to cross with 
inferior breeds. The Berkshire was originally a large 
breed (it has very recently carried off prizes in the hirge 
classes at Royal Agricultural and other shows) of a 
black-and-wliite and sandy-spotted color, as represented in 
the portrait given by Mr. Youatt (fig. 12), in this resjiect 
distinctly diflfering from its neighbor, the old black 
Hampshire hog, rather coarse, but of general form very 
superior to the old white and black-and-white farm hog 
of the northern counties. 

" The late Lord Barrington (who died in 1829) did a 
great deal towards improving the Berkshire breed, and the 
improved Berkshires are almost all traced back to his herd. 
They are now considered by Berkshire farmers to be di- 
vided into middle (not a large breed) and a small breed. 
If first-class, they should be Avell covered with long black 
silky hair, so soft that the problem of ' making a silk 
purse out of a sow's car ' might be solved with a jirize 
Berkshire. The white should be confined to ''four white 
feet, a white spot between the eyes, and a few white hairs 
behind each shoidder!* 



THE MODERN ENGLISH BREEDS OP PIGS. 



75 




76 UARRIS ON THE PIG. 

"At Mr. Sadler's, Bentham, near Cricklade, one of the 
most successful improvers of Berkshires, and eminent as a 
manufacturer of North Wiltshire cheese, the committee 
of the Ayrshire Agricultural Association saw ' three hun- 
dred, every one of which was marked in this manner.' 

" Mr. Sadler obtained his original stock from the late 
Lord Barrington's herd. At Baker Street, he once won 
the prize for the best fat pig in the yard w^ith a sow near- 
ly four years old, (a portrait of which is given in fig. 
20,) which had been the mother of a numerous progeny. 
She was 6 ft. 4 in. in length, 7 ft. 6 in. in girth, and 
weighed 42 score, 16 lbs., or 856 lbs., — more than many 
fat heifers. But it seems to be the general opinion of 
feeders that Berkshires pay best at moderate weights. 

" To develop tlie full size, they must not be allowed to 
breed until twelve months old at least. Mr. Sadler con- 
siders the improved Berks superior to any other (black ?) 
breed, for size, quality, hardiness of constitution prolific- 
ness, early maturity, and aptitude to fatten. 

"My friend Mr. Thomas Owen, of Clapton, Hungerford, 
who has had, in his forty years' experience as a Berkshire 
farmer, ' some thousand through his hands d^ad,' writes 
me : 

" ' I remember the Berks pig a much larger and coarser 
animal than now ; at present they are a medium, not a 
large breed. They have been improved by judicious se- 
lection and distant crosses with the Neapolitan, which 
have added to their fattening qualities. They are much 
esteemed by butchers for evenness of flesh (that is, more 
lean to the projDortion of fat) than any other breed, — and 
this is a good recommendation.' 

"The late Rev. T. C. James, who was a successful exhib- 
itor of pigs at Chelmsford, and one of the judges of pigs 
at the Royal Agricultural Society's show at Warwick, in 
1859, wrote : ' The improved Berkshire is a good big 
animal, well calculated to produce a profitable flitch. A 



TUE MODEEN ENGLISH BKEEDS OP PIGS. 



77 




LllTi_U:j 



78 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

good little pig is very well, but a good big jtig is better, 
if with aptitude to fatten : two exhibited at Chelmsford, 
in 1856, (of Sadler's breed) weighed, each, twelve score at 
seven months old, and with that Aveight, were of such 
good constitution, that they were well upon their legs. 
They had walking exercise in an orchard every day while 
fattening.' 

" One of the most extensive farmers in West Norfolk 
writes: 'Dissatisfied with the Norfolk pigs, I flew to 
Mr. Sadler, of Bentham, "Wilts, gave him 20 guineas for 
three sows and a boar. I sold over one hundred in the 
first eighteen months for £2 each when ten weeks old, and 
the only comjilaint I have is, that they do not breed so 
many as the old Norfolks ; but I say eight or nine good 
ones are better than ten or eleven ordinary ones. They 
are good graziers, and our butchers are very fond of 
them. There is plenty of lean meat with the fat, which 
is not the case with the fiancy pigs. The cross between 
the Berks boar and Norfolk soav (white), like all cross 
breeds, is most profitable to the feeder, but we must have 
pure bi'eeds first.' 

"This Norfolk opinion," says Mr. S., " is confirmed by all 
my eorresjiondence. The Berkshire pig is in favor in 
every dairy district, either pure or as a cross, but chiefly 
as a cross ; he does not fatten so quickly as some other 
breeds, but his constitution and bacon quality are famous. 

" The average weight of a bacon improved Berkshire 
hog, fit to kill, will be about 400 lbs. The ham-curers 
who purchase from these fixrms, prefer the small breed of 
Berkshires, of from nine to fourteen score. 

"The improved Berkshire boar was used to give size and 
constitution, many years ago, to the Essex ; and the most 
eminent breeder of Essex has informed me that on one 
occasion, in a litter of Essex pigs, two little pictures of 
the Berkshire boar, their remote ancestors by at least 
twenty-eight years, appeared. It seems to be generally 



THE M01)EI:N ENGLISH BREEDS OF PIGS. 79 







80 HAERIS ON THE PIG. 

agreed that the Berks breed is best adapted for hams and 
bacon, and not for small fresh pork. As I have already 
mentioned, the Berks boar has been used to cross the 
large breed in Yorksliire, but without permanently satis- 
factory results in establishing a breed ; for a first cross with 
almost any breed, it is sure to produce a well-sized useful 
animal. In reply to questions addressed through tlie 
landlord of the Arley Hall estate,, in Cheshire, to his prin- 
cipal tenants, it seems that the dairy farmer of that 
county finds it profitable to cross the dark or spotted sows 
which tliey have in the county, and also those they pm*- 
chase largely from Shropshire aiul Wales, with a Berk- 
shire boar. The produce is all, or nearly all, made into, 
and sold for making bacon. On the other hand, in Kent, 
Mr. Betts, of Preston Hall, buys Berkshire sows and 
crosses them with a white Windsor boar, 'the produce 
being invariably white.'* 

IMPROVED ESSEX (Fig. 22). 

We have already given some account of this celebrated 
breed, but the American farmer will be glad to read what 
Mr. Sidney writes in regard to it. He says: "The im- 
proved Essex is one of the best pigs of the small black 
breeds, well calculated for producing pork and hams of 
the finest quality for fashionable markets ; but its great- 
est value is as a cross for giving quality and maturity to 
black pigs of a coarser, hardier kind. It occupies, with 
respect to the black breeds, the same position that the 
small Cumberland-Yoi-ks do as to white breeds — that is to 
say, an improved Essex boar is sure to improve the prod- 
uce of any large dark sow. 

" The original Essex pig was a party-colored animal, 
black, with white shoulders, nose, and legs — in fact, a sort 
of ' sheeted ' pig, large, upright, and coarse in bone. 

" The first improvement was made by the late Lord West/ 



THE MODERN ENGLISH BREEDS OF PIGS. 81 

em, when Mr. Western, an Essex squire, who divided his 
lil'e pretty equally between the cultivation of live-stock 
and the passionate support of the politics of liis friend, 
Charles James Fox. While travelnig in Italy (making 
the grand tour), he observed, admired, and secured a male 
and female of the breed called Neapolitan, ' found in its 
greatest purity (according to a letter addressed by Lord 




Fig. 33. — LORD WESTEKN ESSEX. 

Western to Earl Spencer in the Farmers' Magazine^ Janu- 
ary, 1839) in the beautiful peninsula, or rather tongue of 
land, between the Bay of Naples and the Bay of Salerno. 
. . A breed of very peculiar and valuable qualities, the 
flavor of the meat being excellent, and the disposition to 
fatten on the smallest quantity of food unrivaled.' 

"From this pair Mr. Western (afterwards Lord Western) 

bred in-and-in, until the breed was in danger of becoming 

extinct — a sure result of in-and-in breeding. He then 

turned to Essex, and, there is reason to believe, to black 

4* 



82 IIAEEIS ON THE PIG. 

Sussex and Berkshire sows ; and obliterating the white 
of tlie old Essex, produced a class of animals of which he 
says, in the letter already quoted : ' I have so completely 
engrafted this stock upon British breeds, that I think my 
herd can scarcely be distinguislied from the pure blood " 
(of Neapolitans). (See figure 23.) 

" The Western Essex pigs had great success at agricul- 
tural shoAvs. The old Essex, with its ' roach back, long 
legs, sharp head, and restless disposition,' was capable of 
being made very fat, but then it required time and an un- 
limited sup{)ly of food. The advantage of a cross with 
the Italian was obvious, and the fact that the new breed 
Avas in tlie hands of a popular county squire was no small 
lielp in extinguishing the native and unprofitable parti- 
colored race. 

" Bu.t as Lord Western bred exclusively from his own 
stock — having attained what he considered perfection — 
always selecting the neatest and most perfect males and 
females, his breed gradually lost size, muscle, and consti- 
tution, and consequently fecundity ; and at tlie time of 
his death, in 1844, while whole districts had benefited 
from the cross, the Western herd had become more orna- 
mental than useful. 

"But, in the meantime, the well-known Mr. Fisher 
Hobbs, of Boxtcd Lodge, then a young tenant farmer at 
Mark's Hall, on the Western estate, had taken up, among 
other farm live-stock, the Essex pig, and made use of the 
privilege he enjoyed of using Lord Western's male ani- 
mals to establish a breed on strong, hardy black Essex 
sows, even if somewhat rough and coarse, crossed with 
the Neapolitan-Essex boars. On the carefully selected 
produce of these, divided and kept as pure sej^arate fam- 
ilies, he establislied the breed that he first exhibited, and 
has since become famous as the ''Improved Essex^ a title 
which Lord Western himself adopted when his tenant and 
pupil had successfully competed with liim. On Lord 



TUK MODJiliN E:>fGL,ISH BREEDS OF I'lGS. 



83 




''(M} }§ 



84 



HAEEIS ON THE PIG, 



Western's death, Mr. Hobbs i^urcbased his best breeding 
sows. The difference between Lord Western's Essex 
and Mr. Fisher Hobbs' improved Essex, is shown very 
plainly by the two portraits which illustrate this section, 
the one drawn by Mr. Youatt, in 1845 (fig. 23), and the 
other from ' Emperor,' an eight-year-old working boar 
drawn for me in April, 1860 (fig. 22). 

" The improved Essex, with symmetry, have more size 
and constitution than the original Essex-Neapolitans, and 




Fig. 25.— ESSEX sow. 



this has been maintained without any crosses for more 
than twenty years, by judicious selection from the ' three 
distinct families.' " 

Very excellent specimens of the Essex pigs are owned 
by various breeders in this country. We give engravings 
(figs. 24, 25, — ) from photographs of animals owned by 
L. A. Chase, Esq., Northampton, Mass., descended from 
animals imported by Samuel Thorne, Esq., from Fisher 
Hobbs' stock. They aie in only working condition. 



THE MODERN ENGLISH BEEEDS OF PIGS. 85 

IMPKOVED OXFORDSniKE. 

" These black pigs," says Mr. Sidney, " although they 
are scarcely numerous enough to enable them to claim 
the title of a breed, are interesting, because representing 
a successful attempt to unite the best qualities of the 
Berkshire and improved Essex, The old Oxfordshire 
breed were very like the old Berkshire. The first great 
improvement is traced to two Neapolitan boars imported 
by the late Duke of Marlborough when Marquis of Bland- 
ford, and presented by him to Mr. Druce, senior, of Eyns- 
ham, and the late Mr, Smallbones, in 1837. These Nea- 
politans were used with Berkshire sows, some of whieh 
were the result of Chinese crosses. Two families of jet- 
black pigs were formed by Mr, Sraallbones and Mr. Druce. 
On the death of Mr. Smallbones, Mr, Samuel Druce, jun., 
purchased the best of his stock, and had from his father, 
and also from Mr. Fisher Hobbs, improved Essex boars. 
The produce were a decided ' hit,' and very successful at 
local, Royal, and Smithfield Club shows. The improved 
Oxfoids are of fair size, and all black, with a fair quantity 
of hair, very prolific, and good mothers and sucklers. 

" Mr. Samuel Druce writes me : ' I have recently used 
one of Mr. Crisp's black Sufiblk boars. In fact, wherever 
opportunity ofiers, I obtain good fresh blood of a suitable 
black breed, with the view of obtaining more lean meat 
than the Essex, better feeding qualities than the pure 
Berkshires, and plenty of constitution. I have never been 
troubled with any diseases among my pigs. Without 
change of boars of a different tribe, if of the same breed, 
constitution cannot be preserved. Where breeding in- 
and-in from a limited stock is persisted in, constitution is 
lost, the produce of each sow becomes small in size and 
few in number.' The Oxford dairy farms have a first-rate 
market for pork in the University. Porkers at thirteen 
to sixteen weeks are wanted to weigh 60 lbs. to 90 lbs. ; 



86 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

bacon pigs at nine to ten months, 220 lbs. to 280 lbs., but 
at that age the improved Oxfords are easily brought to 
400 lbs." 

BLACK AND BED TIGS. 

" Birmingham has long been one of the greatest pig 
markets in the kingdom, and the pig-breeding of the 
district has been not a little nifected and improved by the 
winter fat-stock sho'sv", A\hich has for some years past been 
held there, at Bingley Hall, with great success. The town 
of Birmingham unites Staffordshire and Warwickshire. 
The old Warwickshire breed was a white or party-colored 
animal of the old-fashioned farm-yard type, and has never 
been improved into a special breed. The Staffordshire 
breed was the ' Taraworth.' At present the Tamworth 
are rapidly going out of favor with farmers, from the 
want of aptitude to fatten, and are being replaced by use- 
ful jtigs, the result of miscellaneous crosses of no special 
character. The best are the middle-sized white pigs, a 
cross of the Cumberland-York with local white breeds, 
often called the Cheshire. The northern cross improves 
the constitution, and gives hair of the right quality, ' hard, 
but not too much or too coarse.' 

" At Bingley Hall the class of Berkshire breeding-pigs 
under six months old generally brings from twenty to 
twenty-five pens. At present, however, the Berkshires in 
the Birmingham district are chiefly in the hands of ama- 
teur farmers, tenant farmers not having taken very kindly 
to them. 

" But the breed must be spreading rapidly if the ready 
sale of the young pigs at the Birmingham show be taken 
as evidence. 

"Mr. Joseph Smith, of Henley-in-Arden, one of the most 
successful exhibitors of Berkshires, keeps three or four 
sows, and sells all their young ; and others find the de- 
mand for young pigs constant throughout the year. 



THE MODERN ENGLISH BREEDS OP PIGS. 87 

" Mr. Thomas Wright, of Quarry House, Great Barr, 
(who did so much toward founding the Bingley Hall 
show,) considers the cross of the Berkshire with the Tam- 
worth 'jjroduces the most profitable bacon pigs in the 
kingdom, the Berkshire blood giving an extraordinary 
tendency to feed, and securing the early maturity in which 
alone the Tamworth breed is deficient. The cross of the 
Berkshire boar with large white sows has been found to 
produce most satisfactory results to plain farmers. My 
own notion with regard to all agricultural stock is, that 
we should abandon crosses and stick to our pure bi-eeds, 
adapting them to our particular Avants by careful selec- 
tion.' 

"The Tamwoktii Breed isared, orred-and-blackpig, — 
hardy, prolific, and the best specimens well shaped, but 
slow in maturing. It seems a near relation to the old 
Berkshire ; but modern Berks breeders carefully exclude 
all red-marked pigs from their breeding-sheds. Reddish 
hairs at the tips of the ears of Essex would be permitted 
and admired. Mr. Alderman Baldwin, of Birmingham, 
is a noted breeder of this hardy, useful pig, which, how- 
ever, does not seem to have any success as a prize winner. 
At the Royal Agricultural Show at Warwick, 1859, the 
Yorkshire and Berkshire breeds divided all the honors." 

DEVONS. 

" Devonshire," says Mr. Sidney, " has an excellent breed 
of black pigs, which partake, for the most part, of the 
character of the improved Essex :ind Berks^hire. The 
climate seems to require less hair than the northern and 
midland counties. Mr. George Turner, the great cattle- 
breeder of Devon, has done a good deal in the last forty 
years towards improving the west country black pigs by 
his ' stud ' and importations. 

" The ' original Devon pigs were valued according to 



88 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

the length of theii* bodies, ears, noses, tail, and hair ; tlie 
longer the better, without reference to quality or sub- 
stance,' just like some Devonshire squires of 500 ragged 
acres, who value themselves on the length of a pedigree 
unillurainated by a single illustrious name or action. 
' They were of no particular color or character ; but within 
the last forty years they have been improved perhaps 
more than any other stock, by judicious crosses and im- 
portations.' Within the last twenty years a good deal 
of Mr. Fisher Hobbs' stock (Essex) has been intro- 
duced, and seem well adapted to the climate. The Berk- 
shires are also much approved. Mr. George Turner's 
stock ' are black, with short faces, thick bodies, small 
bone, and but little hair, and exhibit as much good breed, 
shape, and constitution, as any tribe of pigs in the king- 
dom, and have won as many prizes at the breeding-stock 
shows of the Royal Agricultural Society.' 

" ' At eighteen months old they generally make from 18 
to 20 score — 360 lbs to 400 lbs., sinking the offal. 

" Some of the original breed of the county may still be 
seen in parts of North Devon; they will jump a fence 
that would puzzle many horses and some hunters. But, 
taken as a whole, the pig stock of Devonshire is far above 
the average of other counties ; the black pig being, per- 
haps, the only foi'eigner who has ever been cordially wel- 
comed as a settler in that very exclusive county." 

DORSETS. 

" Dorset," says Mr. Sidney, " has no reputation as a 
pig-breeding county ; but one breeder, Mr. John Coate, 
of Hamoor, has achieved a reputation for his Improved 
Dorsets, by winning, amongst other prizes, the gold 
medal for the best pen of pigs in the Smithfield Club 
Show not less than five times, viz., 1850, 1851, 1852, 1855, 
and 185G. 



THE MODERN ENGLISH BREEDS OP PIGS. 89 

" Mr. Coate writes me that he purchased, about ' t^^enty 
years ago, a boai' and sow in Somersetshire, of a breed 
said to have been sent from Turkey. They resembled, in 
some measure, the wild boar,* being short on the leg, 
' with very long, wiry hair, black in color, and very inclined 
to fatten. I was led to believe it was a mixture between 
the wild boar and Neapolitan breeds. I crossed them 
with some Chinese I had, and by so doing, hoth ways, pro- 
duced the animals I named, when first exhibited, the 
' Dorset breed,' although not properly ; but they had, 
from their beauty, previously found their way into many 
farm-yards in the county. I had two distinct breeds to 
begin with (Mr. Coate means, I presume, the Chinese- 
Turks and the Turk-Chinese,) which I kept pure a long 
time for crossing ; but as both wore away, have used my 
own stock as far akin as possible, and have once or twice 
introduced fresh blood by getting a boar as much like my 
own as I could. I have tried crosses with other breeds, 
but not liking the offspring, got rid of them again. 
Crosses answer well for profit to the dairyman, as you get 
more constitution and quicker growth ; but for me, who 
sell a great number of pigs for breeding pur2:)Oses, I find 
it will not do, as it requires many years to get anything 
like purity of blood again. With all animals, the first or 
second cross is good ; but if you ever get away from the 
pure breed, it requires years and great attention to regain 
it, as the cross often shows itself in color or shape years 
after it has taken jilace, when you fancy you are quite 
safe.' 

"There is no manner of doubt that Mr. Coate's Dorsets 
have been improved by a strong cross of Mr. Hobbs' im- 
proved Essex. Experienced pig judges tell me that they 
carry the relationship plainly in their faces ; and this 



* According to this description, they did not in the least resemble any wild 
boar I have ever seen.— S. S. 



90 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

would be a safe cross, both being derived from Neapoli- 
tans. 

" But Dorset, as a county, is so far from being celebrated 
for pigs, that one of the greatest dairy farmers, who feeds 
whole herds, writes me — ' All I know is, that our breed 
of pigs is very bad.' 

" They are, for the most part, black and white, of a Berk- 
shire character. The ancient Dorset pig is said to have 
been blue, perha])s the original of the blue boar. One 
well-known parish in Dorset is called ' Toller Porcorum.' " 

Mr. Sidney certainly deserves credit for the boldness 
with which he endeavors to classify the diiferent breeds 
of English pigs. It is not an easy or an agreeable task. 

It would seem from the facts given above that the 
White Breeds are decidedly of a mixed origin. The 
Yorkshire breeders furnish pedigrees, but ii'we may judge 
from the specimen given on page G7, these pedigrees, when 
analyzed, show conclusively that tlie breeders who have 
been most celebrated as jirize-winners, have found it de- 
sirable to resort to an occasional cross. They have aimed 
to produce a pig that will grow rapidly, and fat at an 
early age. In other words, they liave nimed, as breeders, 
to produce what we want as feeders. Tliis is, we think, a 
mistake. The object of the breeder should be to pro- 
duce a pig whicli, when crossed with common sows, will 
produce the best pigs for fattening. 

Agricultural Societies Avill not allow a grade Shorthorn, 
or a grade Hereford, or a grade Devon, or a grade Ayr- 
shire to compete with a thorough-bred. But both in 
England and America, pigs are shown without reference to 
pedigree ; and as long as this is the case, the breeders of 
thorough-bred pigs receive injury rather than benefit from 
these exhibitions. None but thorough-breds should be 
allowed to compete with thorough-breds. The importance 
of " pedigree " is admitted, but the societies do not insist 



THE MODEKN ENGLISH BKEEDS OF PIGS. 9 1 

upon it, and the consequence is that nearly all the prizes 
go to grade pigs, or to some recently made-up breed. 

If one of these successful exhibitors of a made-up breed 
is a conscientious man, he endeavors to keep his pigs pure, 
and every year they become more valuable for the pur2)ose 
of improving common stock, but less likely to take a 
prize. Mr. Mangles' York-Cumberlands, of which we 
give a beautiful portrait on page 66, are as handsome pigs 
as can be desired ; but if kept pure for a dozen genera- 
tions, they w^ill be no better than they are now for " show" 
purposes ; in fact, they will probably not be as good. 
Some newly made-up breed, with equal refinement, but 
with stronger digestive organs, will take on fat more 
rapidly and will win the gold medal — as they themselves 
did when not lialf as valuable for the purpose of im- 
proving ordinary stock as they are now. 

We cannot better conclude this account of the English 
breeds than by copying the following remarks from Mr. 
Sidney's book : 

" It will be right to say a few words about two or three 
county pigs of no particular merit, but which, neverthe- 
less, are ' familiar in our mouths as household words.' 
For instance, there is the Hampshire Hog — a name used, 
very unjustly, no doubt, to designate a county man as 
well as a county pig. There are some very pretty things 
to be said about the herds of swine in the New Forest, 
but they have been said so often, that they are scarcely 
worth repeating. The county animal is black or spotted 
with red, and about the size of a Berkshire, but coarser, 
and has had less attention paid to its improvement. There 
are also a considerable number of wliite pigs in Hamp- 
shire. Like every other breed within reach of a good 
market, they have been much improved within the last 
twenty years ; but no Hampshire man has made himself 
celebrated as a pig-breeder, and I cannot find any instance 
of Hampshire pigs taking prizes at the Smithfield Show ; 



92 HAERIS ON THE PIG. 

therefore, it may be concluded that, although the county 
abounds in useful animals, it is not worth while to resort 
to it either for establishing a new or improving an old 
breed. Of his class, the Berkshire is a better animal than 
the dark Hampshire hog, both having, when unimproved, 
a want of thickness through the shoulder, Avhich has been 
corrected by a cross of Neapolitan or Essex, and both are 
slow feeders. 

" The Lincolnshire Pig cannot now be distinguished 
from Yorkshire. At the Lincoln Royal Agricultural So- 
ciety's Show, the prizes were easily carried away by 
Berkshires; but that proves nothing, as some judges 
never give a prize to a white pig, and otliers never to a 
black one. 

" The Suffolk, a white pig, once appeared frequently in 
the catalogues, and in the prize-lists of the Smithfield 
Club Show, but of late years it seems to have given way 
to more popular names. Suffolk has a leading breeder of 
pigs in Mr. Crisp, of Butley Abbey ; but he breeds both 
black pigs and white pigs, and calls his black pigs Suf- 
folks, being a sort of cosmopolitan breeder, a purchaser 
of the best pigs he can find of any color. His most cele- 
brated jjigs ai-e quite black. Mr. Barthropp, of Creting- 
ham Rookery, celebrated for his Suffolk horses, but not a 
pig-breeder, writes of the swine of his native coimty in 
terms Avhich might be applied to almost every district not 
distinguished by a thorough-bred sort, ' The old Suf- 
folks were white, with lather long legs, long heads, flat 
sides, and a great deal of coarse hair ; tliey made good 
bacon hogs, but were not so well adapted for porkers as 
the present improved Snffolks are. These are the white, 
with short heads, and long cylindrical bodies upon short 
legs, and fine hair, which breeders try to get long, fine, 
and thin. These are the best Snffolks ; but there are a 
great many about the county, the result of crosses with 
the black Essex, which have ' no character,' although they 



THE MODERN ENGLISH BREEDS OF PIGS. 93 

are useful animals.' The best Suffolks, as before men- 
tioned, are Yorkshire-Cumberlands, that have emigrated 
and settled in Suffolk, and thence been transported to 
Windsor. 

" The Norfolk Pig, also described by Youatt, is, accord- 
ing to the report of one of the best farmers in the county, 
' an indescribable animal, the result of the mixture of 
many breeds in a hocus pocus or porous style ; and al- 
though they haA'C improved of late years, the county 
stands very low in that division of live-stock.' 'They 
really are (writes another Norfolk farmer) a disgrace to 
our county. The only thing to recommend them is, that 
they are great breeders. If they would have three or 
four less, and better quality, it would pay better.' In 
the days of the first Earl of Leicester, he had, of course, 
some good pigs for the time, and they then found their 
way into book, and have remained there ever since. The 
only noted pig-breeder in Norfolk cultivates the improved 
Berkshire. 

" Bedfordshire cannot boast of a county pig, but a pig 
was bred at Woburn, white, with occasional brown spots, 
and depicted in Youatt's original edition of this book, 
which I have the very best Bedfordshire authority for 
saying, was ' a good sort of pig, without any particular 
character, good feeders, but bad swillei's, and they M^ere 
therefore allowed to die out, and replaced by Berkshire 
sows, crossed with Suffolk boars. Indeed, the Bedford- 
shire breed were so little known, that a tenant of one of 
the first-class farms of that county told me that ' he did 
not know that they had a breed until he saw it marked 
over one of Prince Albert's pens, about ten years ago, at 
the Smithfield Club.' 

" At present a white breed is the most fashionable, which 
means salable, in Bedfordshire. 

" Another very eminent Bedfordshire farmer says : ' The 



94 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

breed of pigs in this county is wretchedly bad, and has 
been ever since I have known it.' 

" A third writes me : ' The Woburn breed, described by 
Youatt, was a good sort of pig, of no particular character, 
except great aptitude to fatten. They Avere discontinued, 
in consequence of the sows being very bad Bucklers, in 
favor of a cross-bred animal, the produce of Berkshire 
sows and white Suffolk boars, the best that could be got. 
These are prolific, of good quality, can be fed at any age, 
and to a fair medium weight. A cross like this pays the 
farmer best.' 

" Herefordshire has a useful white pig, but no attention 
has been paid to it. 

" The dairymen in Cheshire breed and buy a great many 
dark pigs, black, black-spotted, and red-aiid-black, of the 
Shropshire and Welsh breeds, using Berkshire boars, and 
also Manchester or ' Yorkshire ' boars. 

" A tenant of R. Egerton Warburton, Esq., of Arley 
Hall, writes in answer to a set of questions which that 
gentleman was kind enough to circulate among his tenants: 

" ' There is no distinct Cheshire breed. The pigs are 
mostly cross-bred, short-eared, and long-sided. The fa- 
vorite breed is a cross between Berkshire and Chinese.' 

" The Shropshire, of which great numbers aje introduced 
into Cheshire by traveling pig-jobbers, are of a dark red- 
and-black color, long-snouted, and lengthy ; not very fine 
in the coat. 

" The Welsh pigs are generally a yellow-white, but some 
are spotted black-and-white. 

"The (Cheshire) dairymen depend more on these Welsh- 
men and proud Salopians than on breeding. The cross 
of the Manchester boar with the Shropshire and Welsh 
produces a larger and coarser breed than the small York- 
shire. 

" The Cheshire farmers buy in their stores at about six- 
teen Aveeks, feed them from eight to twelve months, and 



THE MODERN ENGLISH BREEDS OF PIGS. &5 

sell them weighing from 240 lbs. to 300 lbs. These are 
considered, in Chesliire, the best selling weights for bacon. 
I observe that the farmer Avho nses most Welsh j^igs keeps 
them twelve months, and sells tliem at 300 lbs., which will 
scarcely pay for four months more keep than the York- 
shire, Manchester, and Shropshire sold after eight months. 

"An immense improvement has taken place in Cheshire 
pigs within the last thirty years, in quality and weight. 
They are made fat at least six months sooner than thirty 
years ago. 

" One farmer says few or no Irish pigs are brought into 
Cheshire; another, a good many, but not so many as 
formerly. The great importation is of Shropshire and 
Welsh. Yet a county member, who ought to be an au- 
thority, writes me that 'Shropshire cannot boast or a 
county pig.' 

"As a general rule, dark pigs would seem to be in favor 
on English dairy farms. 

" The Middlesex is a name which has become knowa 
from winning prizes at the Smithfield Club, in 1841, 1848, 
1850, 1851, 1854, 1856. It is not a county pig, but of the 
same class as the Windsor. Mr. Barber, of Slough, 
Buckinghamshire, is the principal breeder and exhibitor 
of Middlesex. Captain Gunter used to show it before he 
settled permanently in Yorkshire. 

" The Nottinghamshire Breed, whatever that may be, 
has won one prize in Baker-street, and the Warwickshire 
crossed with Neapolitan two, many years ago. 



FANCY BREEDS. 



" By fancy breeds, I mean pigs named after a person or 
a place. The prizes awarded to pigs at the Smithfield 
Club Shows are a very good evidence that the breed, if a 



96 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

breed, had good feeding qualities, although it may not 
have been suited for the ordinary work and treatment of 
a farm. Cross-bred animals have had the greatest suc- 
cess. Pure Essex and Berkshire, and large Yorkshires, 
have not met as much success as at breeding stock shows. 
The most successful animals at Smithfield have been cross- 
bred. Tlie prize-winning white pigs, under whatever 
name, have all had a large dash of Cumberland- York- 
Leicester; the black pigs, of Neapolitan-Essex. 

" Among the most successful exhibitors at the Smithfield 
Club Shows, has been H.R.H., the Prince Consort, with 
what has lately been called the Windsor breed. 

" This is a white pig, the result, apparently, of many 
crosses, the prevailing blood being small York-Cumber- 
land. Thus, H.R.H. won, according to printed prize-list, 
in 

1846, with Bedfordsbires. 

1847, " Bedfordshire and Yorks. 

1848, " Sufiblks. 

1849, " Sufiblks. 

1850, " Yorkshires. 

1851, " Bedfordshire and Sufiblks. 

1852, " Sufiblks. 

(These were, all but one, second prizes.) 

1853, " Sufiblks. 

CFirst prize and gold medal for best pen of pigs in 
any class.) 

1854, " Windsors. 

" And since that time only the breed has been called 
Windsors. His Royal Highness took a first prize in small 
boars at Warwick with his Windsor breed, and a com- 
mendation for a Berkshire sow. 

" It is a tribe greatly in demand among gentlemen pig- 
breeders, and crosses admirably with strong county sows. 

" The CoLKSHiLL is a white pig, closely connected with 



THE ]\rODERN^ ENGLISH BREEDS OF PIGS. 07 

the York-Cumbeiiands bred at Coleshiil, by the Earl of 
Radnor, wlio had stock from Earl Ducie, who had stock 
from Mr. Wyley, of Bransby, Yorkshire, and Mr. Brown, 
of Cumberland, for more than twenty years. The Coles- 
hills, between 1847 and 1850, had great success at the 
Smithfield Ciub Shows ; since that time, tliey seem to 
have somewhat lost their reputation, and twoof my York- 
shire correspondents describe them as ' toys.' ' At one 
time they were of a good size, but they have by no means 
maintained the even character that Avould entitle them to 
the name of a breed." When any of Lord Radnor's stock 
pass into other hands in England, the jiroduce generally 
ceases to be called Coleshiil s. Tliey become Suifolks, 
Yorkshires, Middlesex, according to the fancy of the 
breeder. They are esteemed, and much better known 
among the fashionable pio^-breeders in France than in 
England, and there their o]iponents term them ' drawing- 
room pigs ' — {('ochons de salon). The Colesliills carried 
off first prizes and gold medals at the Smithfield Shows 
in 1846 and 1847, and second prizes in 1844, 1845, 1847, 
and 1850. 

" The BusnET Breed are white, bred by the wealthy 
bunker, Mr. Majoribanks, and were long called York- 
shires, and have recently been named after their place of 
birth. They have no distinctive character to distinguish 
them from their competitors. 

" The Buckinghamshire took the first Smithfield prize 
in 1840, but in tliese and many other names it is difficult 
to find any distinctive character." 

This is additional evidence, if any were needed, that 
the most successful prize-winners resoi't to crossing. The 
whole system of awarding prizes to pigs needs a thorough 
revision. As it now stands, it is simply a means of ena- 
bling breeders to sell highly fed, cross-bred " toys " at 
high prices. The " Prince Albert Suffolks," which we now 
5 



98 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

learn are nothing but liigh-bred grades, have been intro- 
duced into the United States. Pei'haps the writer has 
less cause than he supposed, to regret tliat one which he 
kept until four years old, finally found her way to the 
pork barrel without ever breeding a single pig. 



CHAPTER XI. 

BREEDS OF PIGS IN THE UNITED STATES. 

We have no " native " American pig. Our stock origin- 
ally came from Europe, and jjrincipally from Great 
Britain. And it is highly probable that the largest and 
best specimens of the period were brought over by the 
colonists; and as improvements were afterwards effected 
in England, good animals of the imjoroved breeds were 
imported. 

Attempts have also been made to improve our pigs by 
using Chinese boars and their crosses ; and there can be 
no doubt that individual breeders in this way succeeded 
in effecting a great improvement in the early maturity and 
fattening qualities of their stock. But although these 
attempts attracted considerable attention at the time, the 
pigs so obtained were never generally popular. They 
were too small and delicate for the prevailing taste of the 
period. 

In 1832, the Improved Berkshires were introduced into 
the United States, and soon attracted the attention they 
80 well deserved. In the course of half a dozen years, 
they were introduced into nearly every State in the 
Union. Breeders became excited. The agricultural pa- 
pers were filled with communications extolling the merits 
of the Berkshires — and after a careful perusal of these 



BREEDS OF PIGS IN THE UNITED STATES. 09 

articles at this time, we find that the statements were not 
as highly colored as might liave been expected. As a 
rule, the pigs were quite as good as they were rejiresented 
to be. It was hardly to be expected that breeders should 
say to intending purchasers, " It is of no use for you to 
get a well-bred pig unless you are prepared to give it bet- 
ter treatment tlian you do the common sort." The trouble 
was not in the pigs, but in tlie farmers. Berkshires were 
fully as valuable as the breeders claimed, and yet a great 
and wide-spread disaiDpointment soon manifested itself. 
For a time the supply was not equal to the demand, and 
doubtless hundreds of pigs were sold as " pure Berk- 
shires " that were nothing but grades. But the general 
complaint was that the Berkshires were not large enough. 
The advocates of the breed met this complaint by state- 
ments of weights, giving many instances where the Berk 
shires and their grades dressed 400 lbs. at a year old, and 
that at 18 or 20 months old, they could be made to weigh 
500 or 550 lbs., dressed. One of the prominent breeders 
stated that he had a thorough-bred Berkshire that gained 
496 lbs. in 166 days, and Avhen killed, dressed 626 lbs. 

To meet the demand for large pigs, fresh importations 
were made of the largest Berkshires that could be found 
in England. One boar, " Windsor Castle," imported in 
1841, by Mr. A. B. Allen, it was claimed would weigh, at 
two years old, when in good flesh, 800 lbs. At the same 
time, Mr. Allen deprecated the prevailing taste for such 
large hogs, and very justly argued that smaller pigs, with 
less offal, would mature earlier and fatten more rapidly on 
a given amount of food. But then, as now, the demand 
was for the largest pigs that could be found, and it is said 
that this very boar was afterwards sold to a gentleman in 
Ohio for one thousand dollars. 

But the excitement soon began to abate. Farmers who 
had paid $50, $100, and, in one instance we have met with, 
$250 for a single pair of Berkshires, found that their 



100 HARUIS OX THE PIG. 

neighbors did not like the looks of the new comers. 
Ordinary pigs were selling at from $1 to $3 per cwt., and 
few could be persuaded to pay even 810 for a pair of 
thorough-breds. Thus ended the Berkshire excitement. 
The reaction was so great, that for years afterwards there 
were farmers who would not have received as a gift the 
best Berkshire in the world. And to this day, thous- 
ands who do not know a Berkshire pig when they see it, 
have a very decided prejudice against the breed, 

A few years later, the Suifolks were introduced by the 
Messrs. Isaac & Josiah Stickney, of Boston. These gen- 
tlemen unquestionably procured the best specimens of the 
breed that could be purchased in England, and they bred 
them with great care and skill. Other importations were 
made, and the Suifolks have probably been more exten- 
sively diffused throughout the New England, Middle, and 
Western States than any other improved English breed. 

About the same time, the Improved Essex were intro- 
duced, but, being entirely black, they never became popu- 
lar in the Northern States. They are principally in the 
hands of our large stock breeders, and other gentlemen of 
wealth, but are rarely found on ordinary farms. Being 
in the hands of men knowing the value of pedigree, 
they are probably, to-day, as '''• pure-hred'''' pigs as can be 
found in the United States or in England. 

The large Yorkshires were introduced soon after the 
bi-eed became noted in England, and importations have 
been made from time to time. But no special efforts have 
been made to create an excitement in regard to this breed, 
and it has not been extensively diffused. The small York- 
shires, or Prince Albert Suffolks, were introduced about 
ten years ago, and, for a time, attracted considerable at- 
tention. But they are not favorites with the majority of 
farmers. 

The above comprise the principal English breeds that 
have attracted any special attention in this country, and 



BREEDS OF PIGS IX THE UNITED STATES. 101 

before alluding to breeds originating in the United States, 
it may be well to inquire why these valuable English 
breeds have never been favorites with tiie generality of 
our firmers ? 

That these breeds are not now, and never have been 
popular, is unquestionably a fact. Except some kept by 
the writer, we do not know of a single thorough-bred 
Berksliire, Essex, Suflblk, or Yorksliire pig within ten 
miles, and it is doubtful whether there are any in the 
county, although they have been repeatedly introduced. 
As a general rule, these thorough-bred pigs are kejjt only 
by persons who raise them to sell for breeding purposes. 
They are not kept for the sole object of making pork. 
For the latter purpose they are seldom as profitable as the 
offspring of a good common sow and a thorough-bi'ed boar. 

The handsomest pigs we have ever seen were so ob- 
tained; and one would think that farmers, seeing such a 
result, would continue to use thorough-bred boars. But 
such is seldom the case. They prefer to use one of these 
large handsome grades, rather than the smaller and more 
refined thorough-breds, and in this way the beneficial in- 
fluence of the improved blood is soon lost. 

We think this is the principal reason why these highly- 
refined English breeds are not favorites with ordinary 
farmers. Their real value consists in their perfection of 
form, smallness of bone and offal, and the great develop- 
ment of the ham, shoulder, cheeks, and other valuable 
parts ; and added to this is their ability to transmit these 
qualities to their offspring. This ability is in proportion 
to their purity, and hence the value of pedigree. \Yhen 
one of these pure-bred boars is put to a good grade or 
common sow, we get precisely what we want — pigs hav- 
ing the form, the refinement, the early maturity, smallness 
of offal, and tendency to fatten of the thorough-bred, 
combined with the vigor, constitution, appetite, and great 
digestive powers of the larger and coarser sow. In other 



102 HAKllIS ON THE PIG. 

words, as far as the production of pork is concerned, we 
get a perfect pig — and there the improvement ends. We 
have attained our object, and all that we have to do is to 
repeat the process. To select boars from these grade pigs, 
and to use them in hopes of getting something better, is 
mere folh% It can lead to nothing but disappointment. 
And yet this is the common practice of those who are, 
once in a while, induced to try the thoi'ough-breds. They 
soon find themselves possessed of a stock of non-descript 
pigs, none of them equal to the first cross, and some of 
them inferior to the sow first put to the thorough-bred 
boar. Then we hear complaints of the " degeneracy" 
of the improved breeds, when, in point of fact, no sensi- 
ble man could expect any other result. Another cause 
of the unpopularity of the thorough-bred English pigs is, 
the wretched treatment to which they are often subjected. 
When we first commenced keeping thorough-bred pigs, a 
former of the neighborhood who, some years before, had 
paid a high price for a pair of Suffolk j^igs, and who failed 
to raise a single thorough-bred pig from them, remarked, 
" You will soon get tired of tliis business. I have tried 
it. They won't breed. You are keeping them too fat. 
The only way to treat them is to turn them to a straw 
stack, and let them live on that," The fact that he never 
raised a i)ig from his sow did not commend his treatment, 
and we continued feeding our pigs sufficient food to keep 
them gi'OAving rapidly, and have had no cause to regret it. 
The only sow that has ever failed to breed with us was a 
Prince Albert Suffolk, purchased in the neighborhood 
from a farmer who had probably tried the " straw-stack " 
mode of feeding. 

The aim of a good breeder of j^igs is to get a breed 
that will grow rapidly and matiire early. And the better 
the breed, the more rapidly will they grow. But the best 
stove in the world cannot give out heat without a supply 
of fuel ; neither can the best-bred pig in the world grow 



BREEDS OF PIGS IN THE UNITED STATES. 103 

rapidly without food ; and the more thoroughly the 
power to grow rapidly has become established by long 
and careful breeding, the less capable does the pig be- 
come to stand starvation. It may sometimes be necessary 
to starve a pig for a short time when it has become too 
fat. In this case the pig gets food from its own fat and 
flesh, and sustains no permanent injury. But to starve a 
young, growing pig, is always injurious — and the more 
rapidly the pig is designed to grow, the more detrimental 
and permanent will be the effects of such treatment. The 
handsomest lot of white pigs we have ever raised, were 
from a sow got by a thorough-bred Earl of Seffcon (York- 
shire) boar. She was a very large sow, and not coarse for 
her size. This sow we put to a thorough-bred highly re- 
fined Prince Albert Suffolk, and had a litter of " beauties." 
There was not a poor pig among them, and they were so 
uniform that it was difficult to tell one from another. The 
sow had been liberally fed, and at the time of pigging 
was very fat, and we continued to feed her and the little 
ones all they would eat. The result was a lot of pigs 
that we have never seen excelled. Encouraged by this 
result, we purchased from a neighbor, at an extra price, 
a litter of pigs got by the same thorough-bred boar, and 
at the same time another litter of common pigs from an- 
other neighbor. Both litters ran together, and had the 
same food and treatment, and the common pigs did better 
than the grade Suffolks. 

The grade Suffolks were, in fact, decidedly poor pigs — 
a very different lot from the pigs from our own sow, got 
by the same boar. One cause of the difference must 
probably be assigned to the fact that the sow was not as 
lai'ge or as good as ours, and was not as well fed. And 
another reason for the difference was, the pigs, for the first 
two months, had not had all the food they were capable 
of eating. They never recovered from this neglect, and 
the common pigs were a stronger, more vigorous and 



104 HAKRIS ON THE PIG. 

bealthier lot, and ultimately made ranch the heaviest 
pork. If we had had )io other ex})erience than this, we 
should certainly condemn thorongh-bred pigs. But we 
know that the fault was not in the breed, but in the treat- 
ment which the sow and her young litter had received. 
Common pigs are better than improved pigs that have 
been injured, while young, by neglect and starvation, 
but the improved pigs, if the mother has been liberally 
fed, and they themselves are allowed as much food as 
they require to grow rapidly, will be found nltogether su- 
perior to the common pigs, and Aastly more profitable. 

To say that, up to the time they shut them up to fat- 
ten, the majority of farmers half starve their pigs, will 
not be considered too strong an assertion by any one who 
has turned his attention to the subject. And this being 
the case, it is very evident that the impi'oved English 
breeds cannot be popular — and the same is true of all 
other improved breeds of animals. We must adopt a 
better system of farming before we can hope to see the 
improved breeds of cattle, sheep, and pigs generally in- 
troduced and fully appreciated. Improved bi-eeds necessi- 
tate improved farming, and improved farming cannot be 
very profitable withoiit improved breeds, improved seeds, 
and improved implements. To tell a poor farmer that "it 
is just as easy to raise a good annual as a poor one," is 
telling him what, in his case, is not true. If he 
thinks he can do so merely by buying one or two im- 
proved animals to start with, he will soon find out his 
mistake. He should first improve liis farm, and adopt a 
better system of feeding and management, and then he 
will find it nearly as easy to raise good animals as poor 
ones, and vastly more profitable. 



We are now prepared to consider the breeds of pigs 
which are most popular in the United States, and may be 
able to discover the cause of their popularity. 



BREEDS OF PIGS IX THE UNITED STATES. 



105 



CUESTER COUNTY WHITE PIGS. (Figure 27.) 

The most popular and extensively known bi-eed of pio-g 
in the United States at this time is, unquestionably, the 
Chester County breed, or, as they are generally called, tiie 
"Chester Whites." The rearing and shipping of these 
pigs has become a very large and profitable business. 
One firm alone in Chester Co., Penn., informs us that, for 
the last three or four years, they IiaA^e shi2i[)ed from 2,500 
to 2,900 of these pigs each year, and many other breed- 
ers have also distributed large numbers of them. 

There are several reasons why the Chester Whites are 




CHESTER COUNTY WmTE. 



more poptilar than the English breeds. In the first place, 
they are a large, rather coarse, hardy breed, of good con- 
stitution, and Avell adapted to the system of management 
ordinarily adopted by the mnjority of our farmers. They 
are a capital sort of common swine, and it is certainly for- 
tunate that they have been so extensively introduced into 
nearly all sections of the country. W^herever Chester 
Whites have been introduced, there will be found sows 
5* 



106 HAERIS ON THE PIG. 

admirably suited to cross with the refined English breeds. 
No cross could be better than a Chester White sow and 
an Essex, Berkshire, or Small Yorkshire thorough-bred 
boar. We get the form, refinement, early maturity, and 
fattening qualities of the latter, combined with the strong 
digestive powers, hardiness, and vigorous growth of the 
Chester Whites. If the first cross does not give pigs 
possessing sufficient refinement and early maturity, a 
good, thiifty, well-formed sow should be selected from the 
litter and put to a thorough-bred boar, and this second 
cross will, so far as our experience goes, be as refined as 
is desirable for ordinary farm pigs. When the pigs are 
to be killed at four or five months old for fresh pork, a 
sow may be selected from this second cross, and again put 
to a ihorough-bred boai-. This is probably as far as it is 
desirable to carry the refining process. The \ngs from 
this third cross would have 87' |„ per cent of thorough- 
bred blood in them, and so far as the production of pork 
is concerned, would be more profitable than the thorough- 
breds. 

We think this is the proper use to make of the Chester 
White pigs. They have many excellent qualities. They 
are large, hardy, strong, vigorous, have good constitu- 
tions, breed well, and are good mothers. Whether, as a 
breed, they are tlwroughly established, is rather doubtful. 
There are probably families among them that have been 
bred long enough to permanently establish their good 
qualities. But it is certain that many Chester Whites 
have been sent out that produce litters, the pigs of which 
difier from each other as Avidely as the litters of common 
sows — and far more wiilely than the litter of a common 
sow put to a thorough-bred boar. 

Paschall Morris, of Philadelphia, who has bred Chester 
Whites for many years, and who is thoroughly acquaint- 
ed M'ith the breed, describes them as follows : " They are 
generally recognized now as the best breed in this coun- 



BREEDS OF PIGS IN THE UNITED STATES. 107 

tiy, coming fully up to the requirements of a farmer's 
bog, and are rapidly superseding Suifolks, Berkshires, and 
other smaller breeds. 

"The best specimens maybe described as long and deep 
in the carcass, bi-oad and straiglit on the back, short in 
the leg, full in the ham, full shoulder, well 2:)acked for- 
ward, admitting of no neck, very small proportionate 
head, short nose, dish face, broad between the eyes, moder- 
ate ear, thin skin, straight hair, a capacity for great size 
and to gain a pound per day until they are two years old. 
Add to tliese, quiet habits, and an easy taking on of fat, so 
as to admit of being slaughtered at almost any age, and 
we have, wha#is considered in Chester County, a careful- 
ly bred animal, and what is known elsewhere as a fine 
specimen of a breed called ' Chester County White.' 
They liave reached weights of from 600 to 900 lbs. 

"We have recently heard of a case where a farmer in the 
West had purchased some pigs from Chester County, and 
wrote back that part of them were full-blood, part half- 
blood, and part no Chesters at all. We know of another 
case where a purchaser insisted that a pig from Chester 
County was half Suffolk. 

"There is considerable misapprehension about the Ches- 
ter County breed, so-called. It is constantly forgotten 
that it is not an original, but a made vp breed. They 
differ from each other quite as much as any one known 
breed differs from another. We have often seen them, — 
and the offspring, too, of good animals, — with long noses, 
which would root up an acre of ground in a very short 
time, slab-sided, long-legged, uneasy, restless feeders, re- 
sembling somewhat the so-called race-horse breed at the 
South, that will keep up with a horse all day on ordinary 
travel, and that will go over a fence instead of taking 
much trouble to go through it. They show more develop- 
ment of head than ham, and as many bristles as hair, and 
are as undesirable a hog as can Avell be picked uji. Any 



108 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

traveler through Chester County can see such specimens 
continually. The standard of excellence in all animals, 
no matter how high or how pure may be the breed, so- 
called, is only to be hept up by judicious care in feeding^ 
breeding and management. If eithor is neglected, they 
are sure to run out, and go down hill. With swine most 
especially, ' the breed is said to be in the trough.' 

" When persons speak, therefore, of a pure Chester hog, 
or a half-blood, or a quarter-blood, we consider it only 
absurd. There is no such thing. By an original breed is 
meant, one that has been long established, and of which 
there are peculiar marks and qualities by which it has 
been long known, and which can be carried down by 
propagation. Such is the Devon cow and the South- 
down sheep. The difference in results between an original 
and a recently made up breed may be compared to that 
between a seedling and grafted variety of fruit. If the 
seed of a very fine pear or apple is planted, there is no 
certainty, perhaps no pi'obability, that the fruit will be 
the same as the j^arcnt. A graft of the parent tree, how- 
ever, ahvays produces the same. The results of the other 
are accidental. The law of breeding domestic animals, 
that ' like produces like,' applies more certainly to dis- 
tinct and original breeds, like Devons or Southdowns, 
than to a made up breed of recent origin, like the Chester 
County hog. The owner of a very fine animal, who, for 
several years, has been selecting his stock carefully, and 
feeding them liberally, has the chances greatly in his favor 
that ' like will produce like,' but there are very often to 
be seen very poor specimens from good parentage, and 
also very good individual animals from very inferior pa- 
rents. We have one now which, at a year old, will not 
weigh over 250 lbs. ; she is the offspring of large and 
well-shaped parents. In adjoining pens are others which, 
at the same age, will weigh about 400 lbs. The hair, 
sometimes, is straight, at others, waved or curly. The 



BEEEDS OF PIGS IN THE UNITED STATES. 109 

ear is often small and erect, then again large^ thick, and 
lopped, like that of an elephant. Blue spots often appear 
on the skin, and sometimes black spots on the hair. These 
and other great variations, in external form and other 
qualities show that the Chester County pig represents his 
individual self, and is not a type of a well established 
breed. 

"In the best specimens there are, however, a contribu- 
tion of more valuable points than belong to any other. 
As EUman and Webb and Bakewell did with sheep, and. 
with a far less favorable starting point, it is hoped some 
one may be found to take up the Chester County hog, 
and, by a perserering course of careful selections, breed 
him up to a still higher standard, and give him a more 
definite tyi)e and character. 

"Anyone can do this for himself, but the constant varia- 
tions in their appearance would seem to show that it has 
not yet been done by any one. An impure Southdown 
lamb cannot be produced from a full-bred dam and sire; 
and yet a misshapen and ill-shaped pig is sometimes pro- 
duced from what are called ' pure Chesters.' " 

Coming from a distinguished advocate and breeder of 
Chester County pigs, this statement is as candid as it is 
explicit. We may take it for granted that the Chester 
Whites are not an established breed, like the Berkshires 
or Essex. They will not breed true. This would not be 
so very objectionable in itself, but it follows that, "when 
we wish to improve our common stock, we should not re- 
Bort to a Chester County boar. It is an axiom in breed- 
ing that we should use nothing but thorough-bred males. 
Chester County sows, when judiciously selected, are far 
superior to our ordinary run of pigs, and this breed will 
long continue valuable for the purpose of furnishing good 
breeding sows to cross with some good thorough-bred 
boar of the English breeds. 

And it may be, as Mr. Morris suggests, that we shall 



110 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

be able to so improve the Chester County pigs by such 
" a persevering coiirse of careful selections," as to give 
the breed a better and " more definite type and character," 
and to so thoroughly establish these characters, that we 
may use tlie boars with a reasonable prospect of improv- 
ing any common breed with which they are crossed. Until 
this is done, however, it will be a mistake to use Chester 
County boars, except for the purpose of obtaining large, 
vigorous sows, to he crossed with some thoroughly estab- 
lished breed. 

The " Hog Breeders' Manual," a little Avork published 
in the interest of Chester County pigs, says : " The 
Chester and Suifolk make a very fine cross. If a new 
breed could be made by crossing these two breeds, and 
continuing, and the offspring were a uniform mixture of 
the two, I. should consider it the maximum of perfection." 

In other words, tlie Cliester Whites are too coarse, and 
need to be refined by crossing witl\ some of the thorough- 
bred English breeds. This is undoubtedly true ; and 
coming from a prominent breeder of Chester Whites, may 
be regarded as decisive on this point. But why should a 
farmer wish for a " new breed " when, by using a thor- 
ough-bred Suffolk boar on a Chester White sow, he can 
attain at one step the " maximum of perfection ?" True, 
he cannot breed from these perfect pigs. He cannot hope 
to make them " more perfect ;" but, by continuing to use 
thorough-bred boars, he is always sure of obtaining good 
pigs. What more is needed ? We think it would be a 
mistake if the Chester White breeders should refine their 
pigs too much. The chief value of the breed consists in 
its size and vigor, and in furnishing strong, liealthy sows, 
to be crossed with thorough-bred boars of a refined breed. 
There is no object to be gained by refining, or, in other 
words, reducing the size and vigor, of the Chester Whites. 



BREEDS OF PIGS IN THE UNITED STATES. 



Ill 



THE " CHESHIRE," OR JEFFERSON COUNTY PIGS. (Fig. 28.) 

This is a breed of pigs originating in Jefferson County, 
N. Y. For a dozen years or more they have been exhibit- 
ed at the Fairs of the N, Y. State Agricultural Society, 
and for the last six or seven years have carried off" nearly 
all the prizes offered for pigs of the large breed. Thoy 
were first exhibited, to the best of our recollection, under 
the names of " Cheshire and Yorkshire," and afterwards 
as " Improved Cheshires," and in 1868, one of the largest 
breeders exhibited them as "Improved Yorkshires." 




JEFFERSON COUNTr PIG. 



These different names, in different years, indicate the nature 
of the breed. They have been very extensively distrib- 
uted througliout the country, and especially in the West, 
under the name of " Cheshires." It would be better, we 
think, to call them the " Jefferson County " pigs, as in- 
dicating the place rather than the nature of their origin. 
The latter is uncertain, while there can be no doubt that 
Jefferson County is entitled to the credit of establishing a 
very popular and valuable breed of pigs. 

The old Cheshire pig was one of the largest and coarsest 
breeds in England, but Sidney says " these unprofitable 



112 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

giants are now almost extinct." A Cheshire (England) 
correspondent of this author writes, under date March 17, 
1860, as follows : " The old gigantic, long-legged, long- 
eai'ed pig, of a large patched black and white color, is all 
but extinct. My son met with a fine specimen last year 
in a sow which he brought to breed with our boar of the 
Berkshire small breed, but changed his mind and fed her. 
She showed no propensity for fattening at two years old. 
She weighed, when killed, 42 score, 12 lbs. — 852 lbs ; 
but as 3'|^ d. per pound was the best we could get for 
her, we took her for the family, and the meat was surpris- 
ingly good. She was lean fleshed. The hams weighed 
77 lbs each." 

It is said that a large sow of the old Cheshire breed 
was taken from Albany to Jeflerson County, and about 
tlie same time some thorough-bred Yorkshires were intro- 
duced into the same neighborhood from England. We 
have not been able to definitely establish the fact, but it 
is highly probable that the pigs which were first exhibited 
at the N. Y. State Fair as " Cheshire and Yorkshire " 
Avere from Yorksltire boars, crossed with the descendants 
of this sow. The })igs, as we recollect them when first 
exhibited, were very large, rather coarse, but well shaped. 
Since then, they have, from year to year, approximated 
more closely to tlie Yorkshires. They are still large, but 
have finer bones and ears. The best specimens, as shown 
by the leading breeders, are as handsome pigs as can be 
desired. Color, white ; small, fine ears, short snout, with 
a well-developed cheek ; long and square bodied ; good 
shoulders and hams, and very small bones for such large 
hogs. 

As compared with the Chester County breed, they are 
nearly or quite as large, have finer bones, ears, and snout, 
and are altogether superior in form, beauty, and refine- 
ment to any Chester Whites we have ever happened to 
see. Tliey have doubtless obtained this refinement from 



BREEDS OF PIGS IX THE UNITED STATES, 113 

the Yorkshires. The leading breeders in Jefferson County- 
admit very freely tliat the breed is of mixed origin, but 
it is claimed that they have been kept pure sufficiently 
long to til o roughly establish the breed. We believe that 
this, at any rate, has been the aim of some of the breed- 
ers. When thoroughly established, the breed Avill occuiiy 
a similar position to pure-bred large Yorkshires. The 
boars will be useful to cross with coarse Chester White 
sows, where larger hogs are desired than can be obtained 
by using Berkshire, Essex, or Suffolk boars. 

THE MAGIE (OHIo) PIGS. 

The Hon. John M. Millikin, in his Prize Essay on the 
Agriculture of Butler County, Ohio, gives an account of 
a largo breed of pigs which have obtained considerable 
celebrity in some parts of the West. He says : 

" No county in the United States, of equal area, has 
produced so many hogs of a superior quality as the county 
of Butler. The breed which is so highly esteemed by our 
farmers is the result of careful and judicious breeding, 
conducted by our best breeders in this county, and the 
adjoining connty of Warren, for the last forty years. 

"The precise history of the method adopted to produce 
this popular breed of hogs cannot be given as fully and 
as reliably as its present value and importance demand. 
The best information, of a reliable character, which can 
be obtained, gives us to understand that as early as about 
1820, some hogs of an improved breed were obtained and 
crossed upon the then prevailing stock of the county. 
Among the supposed impi-oved breeds of hogs, there were 
the Poland and Byefield. They are represented as being 
exceedingly large hogs, of great length, coarse bone, and 
deficient in fattening qualities. Subsequently more de- 
sirable qualities were sought for, and the stock })roduced 
by the crosses with Poland, Byefield, and other breeds, 



114 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

underwent very valuable modifications by being bred 
with an esteemed breed of hogs then becoming known, 
and which were called the Big China. They possessed 
important qualities in which the other breeds were sadly 
deficient. At a later period, Mr. Wm. Neff, of Cincin- 
nati, an extensive pork packer, and fond, of fine cattle and 
hogs, made some importations of fine stock from England. 
Among them were some Irish Graziers. They Avere white 
in color, of fair size, fine in the bone, and possessing ad- 
mirable fattening qualities. Berkshires, about the same 
time, were attracting much attention, and both breeds 
vrere freely crossed with the then existing stock of the 
county. The result of these crosses was highly advanta- 
geous in the formation of a hog of the most desirable quali- 
ties. The Berkshires had obtained, witli many breeders, 
great favor, while otliers objected to them, because they 
thought them too short, and too thick in the shoulder. 
Nevertheless the Berksliire blood was liberally infused 
into our stock of hogs, but in sucli a judicious manner, as 
to obviate the objections urged against them, and to se- 
cure their conceded good qualities. 

" Since the formation period of our breed of hogs, as 
above stated, there have been no material or decided in- 
novation upon the breed thus obtained. Our breeders 
have carefully selected and judiciously bred from the best 
animals thus produced among us. Where defective points 
have been apjjarent, they have been clianged by careful 
breeding. There has been, for many years, no admixture 
of any other breed of hogs. Our own breed is now, and 
has been for nearly thirty years, the stock predominant in 
this county. Our breeders believe that they have a 'icell 
established breed of hogs, which is unsurpassed in the 
most desirable qualities of a good hog. This breed of 
hogs, although of recent origin, may be regarded as thor- 
oughly and permanently established. They have been 
bred so long, and with such judgment and uniform sue- 



BREEDS OP PIGS IN THE UNITED STATES. 115 

cess, that they may be confidently relied upon as possess- 
ing such an identity and fixity of cliaracter as a distinct 
breed, as to give assurance that they will certainly and 
unmistakably propagate and extend their good qualities. 

" They can scarcely be said to have a well-established, 
distinctive name. They are extensively known as the 
' Magie stock,' They are sometimes called the ' Gregory 
Creek hogs,' but more generally they are known as the 
' Butler County stock.' It will be doing no one injustice 
to say that J). M. Magie has bred these hogs as extensive- 
ly and judiciously as any other man in the county. He 
has not only bred them for his own use, but also to sup- 
ply the extensive demand that has been made upon him 
from all parts of the West and North-west. 

"While we claim that Butler County has more good 
bogs than any other county in the State, Ave do not desire 
to do our neighbors any injustice by appropriating all the 
credit for this breed of hogs to ourselves. Warren County 
assisted in the formation and establishment of this breed 
of hogs. They continue to raise them in their purity and 
full perfection, and take into the market as fine lots of 
hogs as have ever been raised and sold. 

"In verification of what we/jlaim, we propose to show 
the averages of hogs sold and delivered to packers — not 
isolated cases, nor single specimen hogs, but the lots of 
hogs raised by our farmers, and sold in the market. These 
hogs are usually wintered over one winter, and are sold 
at ages ranging from eighteen to twenty-one months. 
Mr. David M. Ma<]rie has made the followincr sales: 



One 


lot of 


63 
40 
80 
60 
72 

100 
43 
35 

130 


Hof^o 


A\ 


era: 

u 
u 


^e weig 

u 
(1 
u 
11 


ht 


444 lbs. 

417 " 
















, 400 " 








413 " 








408 '• 








467 " 








451 " 








458 " 



116 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

Thomas L. Reeves sold 39 head, 17)^ months old, averaging 459 lbs. 

Jeremiah Beaty " 35 " " 438^ " 

L. Miltenberger " 35 " " 449 " 

Abraham Moore " 40 " " 466 " 

William Gallager " 7i " " 473 " 

" " the first 23 of same, " 528 " 

"These are individual lots, among many which have 
heen noticed as remarkable for their high average. Al- 
though they have never been equaled, so far as tlie pub- 
lic know, yet some may regard another kind of evidence 
as more conclusive. To such we submit the following 
facts, kindly furnished by Mr. Chenoweth, who, for many 
years, has weighed the hogs packed by Jones & Co., at 
Middletown, in this county. The hogs there packed are 
mainly furnished by citizens of this county, and Warren 
County. 

In the season of 1863-3, there were packed 4,956 hogs, averaging 305 lbs. 

" 1863^, " " 5,538 " " 276 " 

" " 1864-5, " " 5,370 " " 283 " 

" " 1865-6, " " 6,003 " " 345 " 

'■• " 1866-7, " " 5,013 " " 335 " 

In 1867-8, a dozen of the best lots averaged 459 lbs. 

" These figures," says Mr. Millikin, " must decide the 
superiority of our breed of hogs over all others. To pro- 
duce such averages, the stock must be of the best quality, 
and then care and judgment in breeding must be prac- 
ticed, and good attention given in raising and Mtening." 

It is evident that the Butler County farmers know how 
to raise and fatten hogs. But it does not follow, from tlie 
figui-es given above, that there is necessarily any special 
merit in the Magie breed. We know farmers who take 
great pride in having heavy hogs, who make them weigh 
from 450 to 500 lbs. at 18 or 20 months old. And yet 
these very hogs are of 'such a kind, that no intelligent 
man, who is acquainted with the merits of the improved 
breeds and their grades, would tolerate on his farm for 
any other purpose except to cross with some highly re- 
fined thorough-bred boar. We are not acquainted with 



BREEDS OF PIGS IN THE UNITED STATES. 117 

the Magie hogs, and would not be understood as saying 
that they are of this kind. They may be the best breed 
in the world, but the fact that the credit of the breed is 
awarded to the county, and not to individuals, does not 
indicate any special and decided characteristics. Breeds 
do not originate in this M'ay. It is not to the farmers of 
Leicestei'shire that we owe the Leicester sheep, but to 
Robert Bakewell ; it is not to the farmers of Durham, but 
to the Messrs. Collins, that we owe the Durham or 
Shorthorn cattle. The farmers of Sussex are entitled to 
no credit for the Sussex or Southdown sheep. Ellman 
did more to improve these sheep than all the other Sussex 
farmers had accomplished in a thousand years. We owe 
the Essex hogs to Lord Western and Fisher Hobbs, and 
not to the farmers of the county — and so it always is. 
The old Essex pig was one of the worst in England ; 
Fisher Hobbs made it one of the very best in the world. 



118 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

CHAPTER XII 

EXPERIMENTS IN PIG FEEDING. 

Boussingault weighed a litter of five j^igs at the mo- 
ment of their birth. The smallest weighed 2' |^ lbs., and 
the largest 3' I3 lbs., the average of the whole litter being 
2'|^ lbs. each. At the end of 36 days he weighed tliem 
again, and they then averaged 17.3 lbs., showing a gain 
of nearly 3 lbs. each j^er week. During the next five 
weeks they gained 3* 1^ lbs. each per week. 

The quantity of food consumed was not ascertained. 

Dr. M. Miles, Professor of Agriculture in the Michigan 
Agricultural College, has made some valuable experiments 
in feeding young pigs, in which the amount of food con- 
sumed and the gain each week were accurately ascertained. 

Six grade Essex pigs, two weeks old, were selected for 
the experiment. They weighed 25 lbs., or a little over 4 
lbs. each. At the end of the first week they weighed 46' |, 
lbs., showing a gain of a little over 3' I,, lbs. each, — a gain 
of about 90 per cent in one week. At the end of the 
second week they weighed 84 lbs. They were then di- 
vided into two separate pens, three in a pen. The pigs 
in pen A weighed 43' j, lbs., and those in pen B 40' j^ lbs. 
At the end of the third week the three pigs in pen A 
weighed 52' j^ lbs. ; those in pen B, 54 lbs. At the end 
of the fourth week pen A weighed 66'|„ lbs.; pen B, 69' |,^ 
lbs. At the end of the fifth week pen A weighed 79 lbs. ; 
pen B, 85' |, lbs. Sixth week, pen A, 89' |^ lbs ; pen B, 
93' I, lbs. 

At this time one of the pigs in pen B met with an ac- 
cident and was killed. It weighed, alive, 30 lbs., and 
dressed, 23 lbs. 

To the end of the eighth week the pigs were allowed 
all the new milk they would drink, and what corn they 



EXPERIMENTS IX PIG FEEDING. 119 

would eat in addition. After tlie eighth week the milk was 
discontinued, and they were allowed all the corn-meal 
they would eat, mixed fresh with a little water. 

During the first week the pigs consumed about 23' |, 
lbs. each of milk, and gained 3' 1^ lbs. each. 

Second week, they consumed 48 lbs. each of milk, and 
gained a little over 6 lbs. each. 

Third week, consumed 47 lbs. milk, and gained 3^|^ lbs. 
each. 

Fourth week, consumed 52 lbs. milk, and gained 5 lbs. 
each. 

The amount of food consumed for each pound of live 
weight of the pigs was — 

1st week. 2d week. 3d tveek. ith week. 

3.93 lbs. 4.42 lbs. 2.95 lbs. 2.57 lbs. 

The gain for each hundred pounds of live weight was — 

Ixt week. 2d week. 3d loeek. Wi xveek. 

86.00 lbs. 80.64 lbs. 26.78 lbs. 27.69 lbs. 

The amount of food consumed to produce one pound 
of increase was — 

\sl vieek. 2d week. 3d loeek. Mh v>eek. 

6.53 lbs. 7.70 lbs. 12.53 lbs. 10.56 lbs. 

These experiments, confirmed as they are by others giv- 
ing similar results, show conclusively that a young animal 
eats much more, in proportion to live weight, than an 
older one. Thus, for each pound of live weight, the pigs 
ate nearly 4 lbs. of milk the first week, and only 2' |„ lbs. 
the fourth week. It would also seem that the younger the 
animal, the more rapidly it gains in proportion to the food 
consumed. Thus, it required about 7 lbs. of milk the first 
fortnight to produce a pound of increase, and ll'|j lbs. 
the second fortnight, or about 65 per cent more. 

So far, therefore, these results strikingly confirm the 
conclusion we should arrive at from theoretical considera- 
tions, that the more food an animal can eat, digest, and 



120 



HARRIS ON THE PIG. 



assimilate in proportion to its size, the more it will gain 
in proportion to the food consumed. 

During the second month, each pig ate, in pen A, 37 
lbs. of milk per week, and 1 lb. each of oats and corn, 
and gained 2.83 lbs. e.ach per week. This also shows a 
great falling off in the consumption of food in proportion 
to live weight, and a still greater falling oif in the rapidi- 
ty of increase in proportion to the food consumed. 

During the eighth Aveck it required nearly double the 
amount of food to produce a pound of increase as during 
the fourth week. 

After the eighth Aveek, as we have said, the pigs were 
fed exclusively on corn-meal. The following table shows 
the amount of food consumed by each pig per week, and 
the increased growth obtained from it. 





Food consumed hy each pig 
per week. 


Increme in live 
weight of each 
pig per week. 


Food required to pro- 
duce 1 lb. of increase. 




Pen A. 


Pen B. 


Pen A. 


Pen B. 


Pen A. 


Pen B. 


3d month. 
4th " 

5th " 
6th " 

7th " 


S.OO Ibi*. 

13.75 " 

10.00 " 

1G.06 " 

Meal. ( 14.10 " 

Roots. 1 5.00 " 


24.50 lbs. 
18.25 " 
25.00 " 
25.87 " 
23.18 " 


1.70 lbs. 
3.50 " 
4.25 " 
0.75 " 
2.04 " 


6.50 lbs. 
4.50 " 
.5.93 " 
4.02 " 
3.75 " 


4.08 lbs. 
.3.03 " 

3.82 " 

8.83 " 
(7.00 " 
1 2.42 " 


3.81 lbs. 
4.06 " 
4.22 " 
5.24 " 
5.98 " 


Averajre of 
5 moiiths. 


Meal... 14.23 " 
Roots... 1.00 " 


23.39 " 


2.07 " 


5.14 lbs. 


Meal.. 5.32 " 
Roots. 0..37 " 


4.55 " 



It should be remembered that these pigs were all of 
one litter, and that in both pens they had the same food, 
(except that during the seventh month of the experiment 
the pigs in Pen A were allowed roots in addition to the 
corn meal) were fed at the same time, and in the same 
conditions, and both were allowed all they would eat, and 
yet the pigs in pen B ate 61 per cent more food than 
those in j^en A, and gained over 92 per cent more. 

We cannot tell why one pig differs from another pig of 
the same litter. But, aside from this, it is not difficult to 
understand why pigs, that eat more food, should gain 
more in proportion to the food consumed. It is owing to 



EXPERIMENTS IN PIG FEEDING. 



121 



the fact that, in the case of the small eaters, nearly all the 
food is used merely to support the vital functions. In a 
previous chapter (jiage 21) we have endeavored to ex- 
plain this matter in detaiL 

One of the pigs in pen A gained nearly as mucli as 
those in pen B ; and had the pigs been fed separately, the 
result would doubtless have been even more strikingly in 
favor of the large eaters. 

The following table shows the weight of the pigs when 
six weeks old (the fourth week of the experiment), and 
for each month afterwards. 







•n 


-^ 


1 


^ 


1 


1 


-ii 




1 






|-s 




1.- 


s . 


& . 


58 -S 


1.^ 


S 






<a"g ^~ 












S» • 








'fe'^l^.,- 


«.-■ 


«^ 


« . 




«^- 


g^ 


SS"^ 






^§r«"S 


■s^-^ 


'S'S 


^■s 


^■s 




~ 






fe S ' Ca ^ 


Ss 


fel 


.^ 




.*> 




fi 




(Fieri 




.3 
36 


1 

42 


1 




59 


to 


<§ 




21 


311/, 


53 


52 


38 


27/, 


Pen A.-! " 2 


23 


•iA% 


38 


49V, 


60 


64 


69 


46 


25%f 




( '-3 


22/2 


35?£ 


47 


•711/s 


101 


1201/2 


l::!3 


110/2 


97^4 



4 i23/2!4S/2l 80 IIOO/2II3I 1148/2! 156 1321411081^ 

5 |23 144 I 64 I 79/2! 96%|ll8/2l 142,129 | 98 



Pen B. 



At ten weeks old, the pigs were not allowed any more 
milk, but were allowed all the corn-meal they would eat. 
From this time, until they were 30 weeks old, a period of 
five months, pig 1 gained 27' j^ lbs., pig 2, 35^ |^ lbs., and 
pig 3, 97' 1^ lbs., all in the same pen. Taking the pens to- 
gethei", we have shown that the pigs in pen A ate about 
5'|j lbs. of food to produce 1 lb. of increase, while the 
pigs in pen B required only 4' 1^ lbs. to produce the same 
result. But it is undoubtedly true that these figures do 
not show the whole advantage to be gained by having 
pigs that can eat and assimilate a large amount of food. 
Pig 3 probably ate much more than his proportion of the 
food, and gained even still more in proportion to the food 
consumed. Thanks to Professor Miles, we are not left 
wholly to conjecture on this important point. Finding 
6 



122 HARRIS OX THE PIG. 

that pigs No. 1, and No. 2 had no tendency to lay on fat, 
and that they were increasing only in bone and muscle, 
he thought it desirable to ascertain the amount of food 
which each pig consumed; so, at the beginning of the 21st 
week of the experiment, tlie pigs were p\it in separate 
pens, and allowed, as before, all the food they would eat. 
During the first week afterwards. 

Pig 1 ate 11 lbs. meal. 

" 2 " 12X " " 

" 3 " 353^ " " 

During the month the pigs ate and gained as follows : 

Pig 1 ate 481^ lbs. meal, and lost 1 lb. 
" 2 " 51>^ " " " gained 4 lbs. 
" 3 " 100 " " " gained 193^ lbs. 

Pigs 1 and 2, together, ate precisely the same amoimt 

of food as pig 3 alone. But in the one case, the 100 lbs. 

of corn gave 19'|, lbs. of increase, and in the other only 

3 lbs. So much for a good appetite. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

LAWES AND GILBERT'S EXPERIMENTS IN PIG FEEDING. 

The most extensive experiments on fattening pigs are 
those made by J. B. Lawes, Esq., and Dr. J. H. Gilbert, 
at Rothamstead, near St. Albans, in England. These 
gentlemen have, for many years, devoted themselves to 
such investigations ; their experiments were conducted 
with the greatest care, and in the most thorough manner, 
and the results are worthy of entire confidence. Unfortu- 
nately, as it seems to us, the experiments were confined 
exclusively to pigs shut up to fatten ; and no particular 
attention was given to the breed, or the previous history 
of the pigs. The principal object of the experiments Avas 
to ascertain the best kinds of food for fattening pigs, and 
the best proportion of nitrogenous tq non-nitrogenous food. 



LAWES' AND GILBERT'S EXPERIMENTS. 



123 



" In the selection of the animals," say Messrs. Lawes 
& Gilbert, " it was only sought to get such as resembled 
each otlier in character, nge, and weight, in the several 
pens ; and, with this view, a -competent person was em- 
ployed to go to the various sties and markets in the 
neighborhood to purchase animals suited to our object. 

" Forty pigs were purchased, as nearly as possible of 
the same character, and all supposed to be about nine or 
ten months old. The pigs were weighed and marked, and 
thirty-six of them selected out, and divided into twelve 
lots, of three each, in such a manner as to give equal 
weights in each lot, but it was found that, in selecting 
them by weight alone, ' they did not secure animals of 
sufficiently equal feeding quality in the several pens.' On 
the following day, therefore, they were changed from pen 
to pen, so as to provide, as much as possible, a similarity 
in this respect between pen and pen, and, at the same 
time, to retain a near equality in weight also. This being 
done, the weights stood as follows : 



TABLE I.— SHOWING THE WEIGHTS OP THE PIGS WHEN ALLOTTED 
TO THE PENS, FEB. 3, 1850. 





.Q 


^ 


S 


ji 


.o 




^ 


J2 


,2 


.o 


J 


P 




1 


X 


.1 


i 


1 

1£3 


i 


J. 


cl 


X 


i 


^ 


^ 


Nos. of the Pigs. 


3 


1 


£ 


1 


(S 


a 


i 


c 


1 


1 


PL, 


d 
P-i 


1 


146 


146 


142 


142 


140 


133 


133 


132 


130 


129 


131 


130 


2 


1-21 
112 


122 
113 


11.5 
113 


123 
113 


123 
115 


123 
122 


124 
121 


133 
117 


124 
119 


128 
120 


128 
120 


115 


3 


129 


Total weight of 3 Pigs. 


379 


380 


370 


378 


378 


378 


378 


382 


373 


377 


379 


374 



"The allotment thus completed, all the pigs were fed on 
a mixture of one part bean meal, one part lentil meal, 
two parts Indian corn-meal, and four parts bran — these 
being the foods fixed upon for the subsequent experiment. 
The pigs were allowed as much of this food as they 
would eat." " Upon this mixture," say the experimenters, 
" all were kept for twelve days, prior to commencing the 



124 



HARRIS ON THE PIG. 



exact experiment, in order that they might become accus- 
tomed to their new situation, and reconciled to their new 
compatiions, for, in the allotment, the various purchases 
had necessarily been intermixed — in some cases, greatly 
to t\i9 disapprobation and discomfort of the individuals 
of those purchases. For a time, constant quarrels en- 
sued, and the molested animals frequently jumped from 
pen 1o pen, until they fell in with former associates. In- 
dee(3, at first, it was no uncommon occurrence, after they 
bad been left for some time, to find some pens almost de- 
sertf^d, and others crowded. The use of the whip was 
foupd to be very efficacious in settling these disputes, and 
at inngtb, all seeming to live amicably together, the exact 
exp-^riment was commenced on Feb. 14, twelve days after 
the lirst allotment." 

This account will prove interesting, and furnish valua- 
ble bints to such of our agricultural colleges as may 
contemplate making experiments on animals. It shows, 
furthermore, taken in connection with the weight of the 
pigs, that little attention had been paid to their breeding 
or management. They were, evidently, common store 
hogs, active, and quarrelsome, and the fact that, at from 
nine to ten months old, they only weighed 112 to 146 lbs., 
indicates that the farmers of England do not treat their 
pigs much better than the farmers of America. 

During this preliminary period of twelve days, the pigs 
gained as follows : 



TABLE n. 


—SHOWING THE GAIN OF EACH PIG DURING THE TWELVE 




DAYS OF THE PRELIMINARY PERIOD. 








1 


3 


2 
1 

CO 


3 


I 


M 
7 

CD 


t 




.2 

3 


2 

3 


M 
T 






Nos. of the Pigs. 


a 


a 


c 








c 


fi 


c 


s 


a 


a 






30 
14 
17 

61 


11 

20 
11 

42 


Ph 

21 
1() 

15 

52 


Ph 

31 
8 
10 

49 


PL, 

28 

5 

20 

53 


24 
21 
22 

67 


15 

2 

20 

37 


13 
11 


26 

1ft 


20 
10 
9 

39 


6 
22 
16 

44 


^ 


1 


W 


2 . 


15 


3 


26 11 


■'1 






Total gain 


in each Pen 


50 


55 


55 



LA WES' AND GILBERT S EXPERIMENTS. 



125 



During this period, of twelve days, tlie pigs were all 
fed on the same food, and were allowed all they chose 
to eat, and yet it will be seen that the gain is far from 
uniform. " Those pigs," say the experimenters, " having 
flourished most, which had fallen in for the lion's share, 
whilst the weaker ones, Avliich had been obliged to sulk 
in the rear until their more powerful companions had in- 
dulged to the full, clearly indicated their misfortunes by 
their weights. After that time, however, very little ir- 
regularity occurred from this cause — vigilant care being 
taken that each animal should have his full share of food — ■ 
and it soon happened that the mere approach of the 
whij), was sufficient to awe the jjugnacious delinquent 
into humble retreat, while his weaker neighbor, in his 
turn, took precedence at the trough. These ill-tempers, 
though at first very troublesome, gave way surprisingly 
by a little perseverance, and the evil of them, in the 
course of comparative experiments is, after all, much less 
than in submitting to a faulty allotment." 

The experiment proper, commenced Feb. 14, and con- 
tinued eio-ht weeks. The followino: table shows the weisfht 
of each pig at the commencement of the experiment : 



TABLE III.— SHOWING THE WEIGHT OF EACH PIG AT THE COM- 
MENCEMENT OF THE EXPERIMENT, FEB. 14. 





5 


£ 


B 


4 


3 


M 


.o 


I 


^ 


B 


^ 


M 




1 


1 

at 


X 


1 


1 


X 


1 

C5 


i 


j^ 


I 


Nos. of the Pigs. 


Oh 


157 


Ph 
103 


Pi 

173 


3 

Ph 

168 


1 
157 


148 


a 
145 


i5n 


1 
140 


s 

Ph 

137 


& 


1 


149 


2 


las 


142 


131 


131 


128 


144 


i2r. 


144 


142 


1.SS 


1.50 


130 


3 


1:^9 


12:i 


128 


l^i 


135 


lU 


141 


143 


130 
428 


129 
416 


136 
423 


150 


Total weight of 3 Pifrs. 


440 


492 


422 


427 


431 


445 


415 


432 


429 



The following table shows the weight of the pigs at the 
end of the experiment, after being fed eight weeks : 



126 



HARRIS ON THE PIG. 



TABLE rV^— SHOWING THE WEIGHT OF EACH PIG AT THE END OF 
THE EXPERIMENT. 







i 


-T 


i 


A 


5 


M 


i 


i 


M 


i 


i 


s 






1 


1 


1 


X 


1 


1 

«3 


J- 


ci 


1 


i 


1 


1 


Nos. 


of the Pigs. 


S' 


i^ 
(^ 


a 


a 


a 




a 


1 


a 


a 


a 


Ah 


1 


'>7P 


"98 


239 


"OS 


26-J 


"fiS 


"19 


"S7 


"Ot 


176 


197 


"63 


2 




229 


237 


1S3 


19S 


1S2 


230 


191 


243 


14.S 


182 


198 


175 


3 




235 


228 


200 


183 


206 


250 


2^ 


249 


175 


172 


206 


245 


Total weight of 3 Pigs. 


743 


758 


622 


679 


652 


743 


724 


779 


528 


530 


601 


683 



The food selected for the experiment was a mixture — 
1st, bean and lentil meal ; 2d, Indian corn-meal, and 3d, 
bran. 

As beans and lentils are, at present, little nsed as food 
for pigs in the United States, we shall not be far wrong 
in considering them as equivalent to peas. The object of 
the experiment was not merely to ascertain which of these 
foods was most nutritious, but what is the best proportion 
of feeding them. Accordingly, each of the pens had an 
unlimited allowance of some one of these three classes of 
foods, some of them having no other food, except in the 
case of bran, while others were allowed a restricted 
quantity. Thus : 

Pen 1 — was allowed a mixture of equal parts of bean 
and lentil meal ad libitum. 

Pen 2 — 2 lbs. per pig, per day, of Indian corn-meal, and 
bean and lentil mixture ad libitum. 

Pen 3 — 2 lbs. of bran per pig, per day, and bean and 
lentil mixture ad libitum. 

Pen 4 — 2 lbs. of Indian meal, 2 lbs. of bran jjer pig, per 
day, and bean and lentil mixture ad libitum. 

Pen 5 — Indian corn-meal ad libitum,. 

Pen 6 — 2 lbs. of bean and lentil mixture, and Indian 
meal ad libitum,. 

Pen 7 — 2 lbs. bran, and Indian meal ad libitum. 

Pen 8 — 2 lbs. of bean and lentil mixture, 2 lbs. bran, 
and Indian meal ad libitum,. 



LAAVES' AND GILBERT'S EXPERIMENTS. 



127 



Pen 9 — 2 lbs. of bean and lentil mixture per pig, per 
day, and bran ad lihitum. 

Pen 10 — 2 lbs. of Indian meal per pig, per day, and 
bran ad libit am. 

Pen 11 — 2 lbs. of bean and lentil, 2 lbs. of Indian meal 
per pig, per day, and bran ad libitum. 

Pen 12 — Bean and lentil mixture, Indian eom-meal, and 
bran, each separately, and ad libitum. 

The results ought to afford answers to the following 
questions: 

Are peas (bean and lentil) as good, or better, than In- 
dian corn, for fattening pigs ? 

Is it better to feed them alone, or mixed together, and 
in what proportions ? 

What is the value of bran as a food for fattening pigs, 
in conjunction with peas or Indian corn, or both ? 

When pigs are allowed all they will eat of peas, Indian 
corn, and bran, how much of each will they eat, and in 
what proportions ? 

The following table shows the gain of each pig during 
the experimental period of eight weeks : 



TABLE v.— SHOWING THE GALN OF EACH PIG DURING THE EXPERI- 
MENTAL PERIOD OF EIGHT WEEKS. 





.c 


S 


B 


i 


.2 


^ 


X! 


rO 


^ 


J 


.o 


d 

^ 




j^ 


i 


X 


1 


i 


1 

CO 


1 


1 

00 


1 

o 


1 
o 


j, 


X 


Nos. of the Pigs. 


a 


a 


R 


c 


a 


|3 


a 


C5 


a 


s 


a 


a 






























f^ 


PL, 


P4 


eu 


^ 


eu 


Pi 


Ph 


PL, 


PU 


PL, 


cu 


1 


103 


136 


76 


125 


96 


106 


101 


142 


49 


27 


60 


114 


2 


i»4 


!>5 


5a 


67 


54 


86 


65 


99 


6 


44 


48 


45 


3 


10(j 


105 


72 


60 
252 


71 
221 


106 
298 


143 
309 


106 


45 
100 


43 

114 


70 

178 


95 


Total gain of 3 Pigs 


303! a36 


200 


254 



The pigs making the greatest gain are those in pen 8, 
which had 2 lbs. of peas (beans and lentils), and 2 lbs. of 
bran each, per day, and all the Indian corn-meal they 
would eat in addition. These pigs gained 1^^\^ lbs. each, 
per week, or over 2 lbs. per day. The next best gain is 



128 



HARRIS ON THE PIG. 



in pen 2, with 2 lbs. of Indian meal each, per day, and 
all the pea meal they would eat. They gained exactly 
2 lbs. per day. 

With Indian meal alone, the pigs gained not quite 9'[ ^ 
lbs, each, per week. With Indian meal, and a small al- 
lowance (2 lbs. each, jier day,) of peas, the gain is not 
quite 12' j^ lbs. per week ; while with Indian meal, and 2 
lbs. each, per day, of bran, the gain is over 12'| ^ lbs. per 
week. The most curious result, however, is in pen 12, 
where the pigs had all they would eat of each of the three 
kinds of food. The gain is but a fraction over 10' |^ lbs. 
each, jjer week. 

The following table shows the amount of food consumed 
by each pig, per week, and the average increase in live* 
weight, per head, per week, during the experimental 
period of eight weeks : 

TABLE VI.— SHO^VESTG THE AVERAGE WEEKLY CONSUMPTION OF 

FOOD, AND THE INCRE.\SE, PER HEAD, DURING THE 

TOTAL PERIOD OF THE EXPERIMENT. 





DESCRIPTION AND AVERAGE QUANTITIES OP FOOD CONSUMED 


PEB 


-se 




PIG, PER WEEK, IN LBS. 




i 








P 


y 








g fe 


§'~ 


g 






*• 


^•& 


(^ 






?*• 


'^ ft 


^ 






•^1 
•^g 


f 


-^ 


Limited food. 


A a libitum food. 


^1 


^ 


1... 


None. 


68 lbs. bean and lentil meal, 


63 


12.62 


2.... 


14 lbs. Indian meal. 


52 '' '" "■ '' 


fifi 


14.00 


3.... 


14 lbs. bran. 


4OI4" " " "■ 


.^41-1 


8.. 33 


4.... 


14 lbs. Indian meal, & 14 lbs. bran. 


31 'A" " - " 


59y^ 


10.50 


5.... 


None. 


4514 lbs. Indian meal. 


4,514 


9.21 


6.... 


14 lbs. bean and lentil meal. 


4414 ' 


5S14 


12.42 


7... 


14 lbs. bran. 


4454 " " 


.TSi-^- 


12.8T 


S.... 


14 lbs. bean and lentil meal, and ) 
14 lbs. bran. 1 


36J£ " 


64?i 


14.46 


9.... 


1!)!4 lbs. bean and lentil meal. 


18 lbs. bran. 


371"? 


4.16 


10.... 


1914 lbs. Indian meal. 


23% " " 


42.^ 


4.75 


11. .. 


14 lbs. bean and lentil meal, and > 
14 lbs. Indian meal. ( 


18 

38'/4 lbs. bcaiutlentil meal. ) 


46 


7.42 


12.... 


None. 


2.51/i; lbs. Indian meal. y 


57 


10.58 




3 lbs. bran. \ 







LAWES' AND GILBERT'S EXPERIMENTS. 129 

It is very evident that bran, fed in a large quantity, or 
with a small proportion of other food, is a very inditfer- 
ent food for pigs. It is too bulky ^ in proportion to the 
nutriment it contains. The pigs were weighed every two 
Aveeks, and it was so obvious after the first weighing, that 
the pigs in pens 9 and 10 were not getting food enough 
(though having all the bran they would eat), that the 
limited food was increased to 3 lbs. per pig, per day, in- 
stead of 2 lbs. But, even with this addition, it is clear 
that the pigs did not get sufficient nutriment. Their 
stomachs were not capable of holding enougli of this 
bulky, and probably rather indigestible, food. 

The pigs in pens 9 and 11, ate precisely the same amount 
of bran per week, but the pigs in pen 11 were allowed 8^ |^ 
lbs. of meal more than pen 9 ; and it will be seen that this 
8^1^ lbs. of extra meal produced over 3'|^ lbs. of extra 
increase. 

Comparing pen 1 with pen 5, it will be seen that the 
pigs having pea meal alone, gain over 3 lbs. a week more 
than those having Indian meal alone ; but the pigs in pen 
1 ate more pea meal than the pigs in pen 5 did c»f Indian 
meal, and the actual increase from the food consumed is, 
if anything, rather in favor of the Indian meal. It will 
be found that 100 lbs. of pea meal produce 20 lbs. of in- 
crease, while 100 lbs. of Indian meal produced 20.3 lbs. 
increase. It would seem from this that 100 lbs. of peas 
will not produce any more pork than 100 lbs of corn. At 
the same time, it would seem that pigs will grow or fatten 
faster on peas than on com. They are capable of eating 
more peas than corn. 

By comparing pens 2 and 6, we have the same general 
indications. In pen 2, the pigs had pea meal ad libituin^ 
and 2 lbs. of corn meal each, per day; while in pen G, 
they had Indian meal ad libitum^ and 2 lbs, of pea meal 
each, per day. Pen 2 ate the most food, and gained the 
most rapidly. But still the amount of food required to 
6* 



130 HAEEIS ON THE PIG. 

produce a given increase is almost identical. In pen 2, 
100 lbs. of meal i:)rocluced 21.2 lbs. of increase ; in 2)en 6, 
21.3 lbs. 

The more we study these results, the more are we im- 
pressed with the importance of the study of physiology 
and breeding, in connection with the chemistry of food. 
Thus, in the same pen, on the same food, one pig gains 
45 lbs., and another 114. In another pen, one gains 65, 
and another, on the same food, 143 lbs. And so it is in 
all our experiments on animals. There is a cause for this, 
and we cannot but hope that the subject will receive more 
attention from scientific investigators than they have 
hitherto bestowed upon it. 

We should remark that, in pen 5, with Indian meal 
alone, one of the Pigs, No. 1, during the first fortnight, 
gained over 2 lbs. per day, while the other two otily 
gained about half as much. Before the end of the first 
fortnight, however, " it was observed that this fast gain- 
ing pig, and one of the others, namely, No. 3, had large 
swellings on the side of their necks, and that, at the same 
time, their breathing had become labored. 

"It was obvious," say Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert, " that 
the Indian corn-meal alone was, in some way, a defective 
diet ; and it occurred to us that it was comparatively poor, 
both in nitrogen, and in mineral matter, though we were 
inclined to suspect that it was a deficiency of the latter, 
rather than of the former, that was the cause of the ill 
effects produced. We were, at any rate, unwilling, so 
far to disturb the plan of the experiments, as to increase 
the supply of nitrogenous constituents in the food, and 
accordingly determined to continue the food as before, 
but at least to try the effect of putting within reach of 
the pigs a trough of some mineral substances, of which 
they could take if they were disposed. The mixture 
which was prepared was as follows: 



LAWBS' AND GILBERT'S EXPERIMENTS. 131 

20 lbs. finely sifted coal ashes, 
4 lbs. common salt, 
1 lb. superphosphate of lime. 

" A trough containing this mineral mixture was put 
into the pen at the commencement of the second fort- 
night, and the pigs soon began to lick it with evident 
relish. From this time the swellings, or tumors, as well 
as the difiiculty in breathing, which probably arose from 
pressure of the former, began to diminish rapidly. In- 
deed, at the end of this second fortnight, the swellings 
were very much reduced, and at the end of the third fort- 
night, they had disappeared entirely. 

The three pigs consumed of the mineral mixture, de- 
scribed above, 9 lbs. during the first fortnight, 6 lbs. during 
the second, and 9 lbs. during the third. 

It may be also Avell to state that ' a butcher, with a 
practised eye, selected and purchased the carcass of one 
of these [Indian corn fed] pigs, which had been diseased, 
from among the whole thirty-six, after they had been 
killed and hung up.' " 

Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert also made a second series of 
experiments on 36 pigs, divided as before, into 12 pens. 
The foods used were the same as in the first series, except 
that barley-meal was substituted for Indian corn, and the 
pigs were allowed 3 lbs. each, per day, instead of 2 lbs. 

The pigs were about nine months old, and ranged from 
105 lbs. to 138 lbs. each. They were shut up in the pens 
April 26, and allowed all they would eat of a mixture of 
equal parts of bean and lentil meal, barley-meal, and 
bran. They were kept on this food until May 9, when 
they were again weighed, and the exact experiment com- 
menced. All the pigs seem to have done remarkably 
well on this food, many of them gaining over 2 lbs. a day. 

During the subsequent experimental period, however, 
no less than five of the pigs died, and for this reason we 
will not enter into a detailed account of the experiment. 



132 HAEKIS ON THE PIG 

The five pigs that died were in five different pens, feeding 
on difierent food. But it appears that they all belonged 
to one of the purchased lots of eight, and possibly to one 
littei", and, as Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert remark, "the 
loss was probably due to the bad constitution of the ani- 
mals." The weather, however, was very hot, and unfa- 
vorable to the health of pigs kept closely confined and 
fed on rich food. 

The gain of some of the pigs in this series was quite 
remarkable. Thus, in jDen 2, which was allowed 3 lbs. of 
barley-meal per pig, per day, and bean and lentil meal 
ad libitum, one of the pigs gained 120 lbs. in eight 
weeks, or 15 lbs. a week. In the same pen, the other two 
pigs gained, one 65 lbs., and the other 99 lbs., during the 
same j^eriod, and on the same food. In pen 5, with bar- 
ley-meal alone, ad libitum, one of the pigs gained 142 
lbs. in the eight weeks, or 17^ j^ lbs. a week. One of the 
other j)igs in this pen gained 87 lbs., and the other pig 
died. 

It is very evident from these experiments that tlie suc- 
cess of a pig-feeder will depend much more on good judg- 
ment in selecting, or on care in breeding, the pigs he in- 
tends to fatten, than on the particular kind of grain given 
to them. 

The best result of any j^en in this series was where the 
pigs were allowed a mixture of 1 part bran, 2 parts bean 
and lentil meal (say pea-meal), and 3 parts barley-meal. 
The three pigs on this food gained 310 lbs. in eight weeks, 
or within two pounds of 13 lbs. each per week. Another 
pen, having precisely the same food, gave almost exactly 
the same gain, or 307 lbs. in eight weeks. An adjoining 
pen, having the same food, but a greater proportion of 
bean and lentil meal, and less barley-meal, gained 283 lbs. 
in the eight weeks, or about 11' [^ lbs. each per week. One 
hundred pounds of the former mixture gave 20 lbs. of in- 
crease ; of the latter, 18' |^ lbs. 



LAWES AJ^^D GILBERT S EXPEKIMENTS. 



133 



Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert also made a third series of 
experiments, the pigs being fed on dried codfish, in con- 
junction with bran, Indian meal, bean and lentil meal, and 
barley-meal, in different jJi'oportions. The codfish was 
boiled in water, and the meal mixed with it before being 
fed to the pigs. 

The following table shows the composition of this dried 
codfish, together with the composition of the other foods 
used in this and the preceding experiments : 

TABLE SHOWING THE COMPOSITION OF THE DIFFERENT KINDS OP 

FOOD USED IN MESSRS. LAWES' AND GILBERT'S 

EXPERIMENTS ON PIGS. 





PEU CENTAGE RESULTS. 




Dry 
Matter. 


Ash. 


Nitrogen. 


Fatty 
Mailer. 


Bescription of Food. 


11 
88 30 


IS 






II 


1^ 


It ^ 


1^' 
^1 




83.57 
82.43 
81 64 


4.73 
4.87 
4.98 
1.37 
1 28 
6.02 
2.19 
2.18 
2.05 
18.66 


5.354.24' 4.80 2 292 60 


Leutils— Lot 1 .. 

Lot 2 


87.30 
86.62 


5.58 4.52! 5.182.23 2.55 
5.75 4.56' 5.26 2.21 2.55 


Indian Meal— Lot 1 

Lota 

Bran 

Barley — Lot 1 . . 


89.70 88.33 
89.89 88.62 
&t. 79 78.77 
82.38 80.19 
80.95 78.77 
82.53 80.48 


1.531.72; 1.9215.10 5.68 
1.42 1.95 2.17i5.59 6.22 
7.10 2. 6I' 3.08 4.92 5.80 
2.66 1.82 2.21i2.34 2.84 


Lot 2 


2.69 1.83i 2.26|2.33 2.88 


" Lot 3 


2.48 1.55: 1.8811.41,1.71 


Dried New Foundland Codfish 


59.26 


40.60 


31.49 


6.60 


11.13!0.90 


1.53 



In pen 1 the pigs were given, and compelled to eat, 14 
lbs. each of codfish, per week, mixed with equal parts 
bran and Indian meal. Of this mixture they had all they 
could eat, and consumed 47 lbs. each, per week, and 
gained 10.09 lbs. each. 

In pen 2, each pig had, as above, 14 lbs. codfish, and 
ate with it 45' |^ lbs. Indian meal alone, per week, and 
gained 12.15 lbs. 

In pen 3 the pigs had a mixture of equal parts Indian 
meal and bran, and as much codfish as they chose to eat. 
They ate 47 lbs. of the mixture of bran and meal, and 



134 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

only 7'|j lbs. of codfish each, per week, and gained 
8.94 lbs. 

It will be seen that, when left to their own choice, the 
pigs in pen 3 ate only about half as much codfish as those 
in pens 1 and 2, where their other food was kept back 
until they had eaten their allowance of 2 lbs. of codfish 
per day. 

The above pigs were about nine or ten months old, and 
were similar in character, weight, etc., to the pigs in the 
first two series of experiments. 

In another series of experiments with eight j)igs, seven 
months old, and " more finely framed " than the preced- 
ing pigs, 1 lb. of codfish was given to each pig, per day, 
with, in one pen, barley-meal alone, and in the other, with 
a mixture of 2 parts barley-meal, and 1 part bran. 

In pen 4, the pigs ate 7 lbs. of codfish, and 49 lbs. of 
bran and barley meal each, per week, and gained 9.40 lbs. 

In pen 5, the pigs ate 7 lbs. of codfish, and 57^ |„ lbs. 
of barley-meal each, per week, and gained 11.75 lbs. 

These facts will prove interesting and useful to farmers 
living near the sea-shore, in localities where fish are used 
for expressing oil, and where the refuse is sold for manure, 
or for food for pigs. An analysis of this refuse, taken in 
connection with the above experiments, should indicate 
its value as food for pigs, and it is an easy matter to cal- 
culate the value of the manure made by the pigs. 



SUGAR AS FOOD FOR PIGS. 135 



CHAPTER XIV. 

SUGAR AS FOOD FOR PIGS. 

Messrs. Lawes & Gilbert also made some experiments 
on pigs to ascertain the nutritive value of sugar as com- 
pared with starch. 

Twelve pigs weighing from 72 lbs. to 98 lbs. each were 
placed in four pens, 3 pigs in a pen. Lentils and bran 
"were selected as the nitrogenous food, and in pens 1, 2 and 
3 the pigs W' ere allowed 3 lbs. of lentil meal, and 1 lb. of 
bran each per day, and in addition, the pigs in pen one 
were allowed all the sugar they would eat, and those in 
pen 2, all the starch they would eat, and in pen 3 a mixture 
of equal parts starch and sugar. The pigs in pen 4 were 
furnished, in separate troughs, all the lentil meal, bran, 
starch and sugar they would eat. The experiment was con- 
tinued 10 weeks. In pen 1, the pigs ate nearly 2 lbs. of 
sugar each per day, and in pen 2, a nearly identical quan- 
tity of starch ; the other food being the same in kind and 
quality in both pens. The increase obtained from 100 lbs. 
of food was in pen 1, 20.8 lbs,, and in pen 2, 19.9 lbs. 

The pigs in pen 3, having a mixture of equal parts 
starch and sugar, and the same quantity of lentil meal and 
bran as in pens 1 and 2, ate 2f lbs. each per day of the 
starch and sugar. The increase from 100 lbs. of total food 
was 19.8 lbs. 

In pen 4, w^here the pigs were allowed all they chose 
to eat of the different foods, each pig ate per day on the 
average, lentil meal 4 lbs. 6 oz., bran 3|- oz., stai'ch 3f oz. 
and sugar 2 lbs. 2 oz. They ate more food and gained 
more rapidly than in any other pen. The increase from 
100 lbs. of food was 21.3 lbs. 



136 UAREIS ON THE PIG. 

Without going into further details, it is evident that the 
pigs show a great preference for sugar as compared with 
starch, but it does not aj^pear that sugar produces any 
materially greater increase than starch. Certainly there 
is no benefit approximating in the slightest degree to the 
increased cost of sugar ; and it is very doubtful whether 
we should gain any marked advantage by converting our 
barley into malt or of growing sugar beets instead of 
ordinary beets or mangel wurzel. 

We should add that a mixture of 20 lbs. of coal anc| 
wood-ashes, 2^ lbs. of superphosphate of lime and 2^ lbs. 
of common salt was placed in troughs in the pens. This 
quantity being distributed to the 12 pigs during each period 
of two weeks. 

Messrs. Lawes & Gilbert say : This mineral mixture 
was always taken with the greatest avidity and relish ; so 
much so, that the animals would leave their other troughs 
the moment the fresh supply of this was put within their 
reach. They were, moreover, upon the whole, very healthy 
throughout the experiment, and yielded good rates of 
increase. 

In Messrs. Lawes' & Gilbert's account of these experi- 
ments, the actual gain of each pig is not given. But since 
writing the above, we have found the weights of the pigs 
at the commencement and at the end of the experiment, 
from which it appears that 

the pigs in pen 1 gained 8.2 lbs. each per week. 
" " " 2 " 8.2 lbs. " " " 

" " " 3 " 9.1 lbs. " " " 

" " " 4 " 10.4 lbs. " " " 

To a practical farmer these actual figures are more in- 
teresting than mere percentage results. From this it 
would appear that, leaving the question of cost and profit 
out of the question, there may be cases where, with an 
unlimited supply of other food, a little sugar may be given 
to a pig with advantage. A jjig with a delicate appetite 



THE VALUE OF PIG MANUKE, 137 

might be given ordinary food, and then when he had eaten 
all he would of it, by mixing a little sugar with the food, 
he might be induced to eat more. 



CHAPTER XV. 

THE VALUE OF PIG MANURE. 

There is much misconception in regard to the relative 
value of manure from different animals. It is often said 
that the manure of pigs is richer than that from cattle, 
horses, or sheep. This is sometimes the case, and some- 
times not. It depends entirely on the food. An animal 
does not " make manure " any more than a stove makes 
ashes, or a thrashing machine makes grain, chaff, and 
straw. We feed a thrashing machine with a certain num- 
ber of bundles of wheat, and get from it a certain amount 
of grain, straw, and chaff — but the machine does not 
make them. It was all in the bundles, and the machine 
merely separates them. And so it is in the case of an 
animal. A pig has no more to do in making rich or poor 
manure than a thrashing machine has in making white 
or red wheat. It depends entirely on the food. 

There is little or no difference in the composition or 
value between the manure of a pig fed on clover, and that 
of a sheep, or a cow, or a horse, fed on clover. But if a 
pig is fed on clover, and the sheep is fed on straw, the 
manure of the pig will be by far the most valuable, sim- 
ply because the clover contains a greater proportion of 
the more important elements of plant-food. 

A ton of corn, fed to a pig, will not give manure worth 
as much as a ton of clover hay fed to a sheep, for the 



138 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

simple reason that a ton of clover hay contains more of 
the valuable constituents of plant-food than a ton of corn. 
But a ton of pig manure from a corn-fed pig may be, and 
often is, worth more than a ton of sheep manure from 
sheep fed on clover hay. The explanation of these appa- 
rently contradictory statements is this : A ton of corn 
contains more nutritious matter than a ton of clover. It 
contains more starch and oil, and these are digested and 
assimilated by the pig, and consequently there is a less 
quantity of matter to be voided as excrements. On the 
other hand, although a ton of clover contains a greater 
proportion of the more valuable elements of plant-food 
til an a ton of corn, yet the clover does not contain nearly 
as much nutritious food as the corn. There is a large 
proportion of crude material that cannot be digested, and 
this is voided in the excrements ; consequently, we get 
more manure from the ton of clover hay than from a ton 
of corn. It is not worth as much, Aveight for weight, but 
it is worth more as a whole, because there is more of it. 
In other words, a ton of pig manure from corn may be 
worth as much again, as a ton of sheep manure from clo- 
ver hay ; and, in point of foct, pig manure is ordinarily 
worth much more per ton than the manure from cows, 
horses, or sheep. But, at the same time, it is equally true 
that, if the same food was fed to a sheep that we feed to 
the pig, the manure of the sheep would be equally valua- 
ble. Pig manure is usually more valuable, in proportion 
to its weight or bulk, than ordinary farm-yard manure, 
because the pigs are fed on more nutritious food, or, in 
other words, on food containing a less proportion of crude, 
indigestible matter, and consequently we get less bulk of 
manure from the pig, but it is more valuable. But it is a 
grave error to suppose that a pig will make better manure 
than a sheep, a cow, or a horse. 

The following table, prepared by Mr. Lawes, shows the 
average composition of different articles of food, together 



THE VALUE OF PIG MANURE. 



139 



•with the relative vahxe of the manure made from, the con- 
sumption of one ton of each food. 



1. 

2. 
3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
14. 
1.5. 
16. 
17. 
18. 
19. 
20. 
21. 
23. 
23. 
24. 
25. 
26. 
27. 
28. 
29. 
30. 
31. 



Lineeed cake 

Cotton-seed cake*. 

Rape cake 

Linseed.. 

Beans 

Peas 



89 
90 
84 
84 

Tares 84 

Lentils 88 

Malt dust 94 

Locust beans 

Indian meal 88 

Wheat 85 

Barley 84 

Malt 95 



Oats 

Fine pollardt 

Coarse pollard^... 

Wheat bran 

Clover hay 

Meadow hay 

Bean straw 

Pea straw 

Wheat straw 

Barley straw 

Oat straw 

Manj;el wurzel .. 
Swedish turnips . 
Common turnips. 

Potatoes 

Carrots 

Parsnips 



PER CENT. 



."fe 



SI- 






.0 7.00 

.0^8.00 

,o;8.oo 

.0'4.00 

o's.oo 

,53.40 
,02,00 

,o!3.oo 
o;8.5o 



1 

1..30 

1.70 

2.20 

2.60 

2.85 

5.60 

06.20 

,06.60 

,07.50 

,06.00 

,55.55 

,0'5.95 

,0i5.00 

0|4.50 

5.50 



1.00 
.68 
.68 

1.00 
.70 

1.00 



4.92 
7.00 
5.75 
3.38 
3.30 
1.84 
1.63 
1.89 
5.33 

l!i3 

1.87 
1.35 
1.60 
1.17 
6.44 
7.53 
7.95 
1.25 
0.88 
0.90 
0.85 
0.55 
0.37 
0.48 
0.09 
0.13 
0.11 
0..32 
0.13 
0.42 



1.65 
3.12 
1.76 
1.37 
1.27 
0.96 
0.66 
0.96 
2.12 






5"0 
^ o 
So 

Is 



0.35 

0.50 

0.55 

0.65 

0.5012 

1.46 2 

1.4912 

1.45;2 

1.30i2 
1.50 1 
l.lllO 
0.89 
0.6510 

o.63;o 

0.93,0 
0.25 



O.lf 
lO 29 
10.43 
0.23 
0..% 



75 19.72 
.50,27.86 
00,21.01 
80:15.65 
00 15.75 
40'l3.3S 
20,16.75 
30116.51 
20 18.21 
25; 4.81 
80 6.65 
80! T-OS 
651 6.33 
70 0.C5 
00 7.70 
60;i3.53 
5814.36 
55 14.59 
50| 9.64 
50! 6.43 
3.87 
3.74 
2.68 
2.25 
2.90 
1.07 
91 
80 
1.50 
80 
1.14 



* The manure from a ton of undecorticated cotton-seed cake is worth $15.74 ; 
that from a ton of cotton-seed, after being ground and sifted, is worth $13.25. 
The grinding and sifting, in Mr. Lawes experiments, removed about 8 per cent 
of husk and cotton. Cotton-seed, so treated, proved to be a very rich and 
economical food. 

t Middlings, Canielle. $ Shipstuff. 

This table is of great value to the farmer. Hitherto, 
we have worked pretty much in the dark in regard to the 
profit or loss of fattening pigs. Many farmers contend 
that there is no profit in feeding hogs, while others claim 



140 HARRIS O^ THE PIG. 

that, when the manure is taken into consideration, there 
is no farm stock that pays so "svell. But it must be con- 
fessed that the wildest estimates are often made in resfard 
to the value of the manure. By the aid of the above ta- 
ble it will not be difficult to form a pretty correct estimate 
of the value of the manure from any given lot of pigs, 
provided the kind and amount of food consumed is known. 

Thus, if a pig was fed exclusively on corn from the 
time it was weaned until it had gained 350 lbs., it would 
eat about 1,500 lbs, of corn. Now, as the manure from a 
ton of corn is worth $6.65, the manure from 1,500 lbs. is 
worth $4.99, We may assume, therefore, that Avhen pigs 
are fed on corn, in the production of every hundred 
pounds of pork, live Aveight, we get $1.42 worth of ma- 
nure. Or, assuming that a fat pig will dress 80 per cent 
of its live weight, we may conclude that, in the produc- 
tion of every hundred pounds of pork, we get manure 
•wortli $1.78. In other words, in calculating the profit or 
loss of feeding pigs on corn, we may add 1^|^ cents j^ef 
pound (in gold), to the price of the pork for the value of 
the manure obtained. 

On the other hand, if the pigs are fed on peas, we 
get manure worth more than twice as much, and may add 
3' Ij cents a pound to the price of the pork for the value 
of the manure made in its production. In this case, if 
pork sells for 7 cents per pound, we may calculate that 
for every dollar's worth of j^ork sold, we have 50 cents' 
worth of manure ; or, if the pork sells for 10' [„ cents per 
pound, for every dollar's worth of pork sold we have 33 
cents' Avorth of manure in the pig pen. 

Boussingault states that pigs from 5 to 6 months old 
will eat 19 lbs. of green clover per day — equal to about 
5 lbs. of clover hay each. On such food we may safely 
calculate that a good pig will gain half a pound of pork 
a day ; and if so, a pig that would dress 200 lbs. would 
have eaten green clover equal to one ton of clover hay] 



THE VALUE OF PIG MANURE. 141 

and as the manure from a ton of clover hay is worth 
^9.64, Ave may calculate that every hundred pounds of 
pork so produced, leaves us |4.82 worth o^ manure. 

When pigs are fed skimmed milk, we shall probably 
not be far wrong in estimating that the manure made in 
producing 100 lbs. of pork is worth $5.00. 

Taking these four estimates together, and striking a 
mean, we have the following result : 

Value of manure in producing 100 lbs. of pork from Indian corn $1.78 

" " " " Peas 3.56 

" " " " " " Clover 4.82 

" " " " . " " Skimmed Milk 5.00 

Average of the whole $3.79 

In other words, where pigs are fed on clover and 
skimmed milk during the summer, and are afterwards fat- 
tened on half peas and half corn, we may calculate that 
every pound of pork sold, leaves on the farm 3^|^ cents' 
worth of manure. 

It must be borne in mind that these are gold prices, and 
also that this is merely the value of the manure made by 
the pigs from the food consumed. The litter and other 
materials thrown into the pen have not been taken into 
the account. The pig cannot be credited with the manure 
so obtained. If we throw into the pen 100 lbs. of pea or 
bean straw, we add about 19 cents to the value of the 
manure heap ; but this is not derived from the pig, but 
from the straw ; and so it is with anything else thrown 
into the jaen. The pig converts it into manure, but adds 
nothing to its value. The pig creates nothing. Whatever 
of value there is in the manure heap is derived from the 
food consumed, and from the materials used as litter. 
And yet it is nevertheless true, that we can obtain from 
the pig pen a large amount of valuable manure that other- 
wise would be wasted. 

On farms, we have seldom time to attend to such mat- 
ters, and there is not as great a necessity for it ; but per- 



142 HAEEIS ON THE PIG. 

sons wlio have only a garden or small place, should have 
a pig pen, with a small yard attached, into which all the 
refuse material of the garden can be conveniently thrown 
— such as the clippings of the lawn, weeds, potato tops, 
pea and bean haulm, leaves, coal ashes, the loose dirt that 
is raked up in the garden beds, alleys, and walks, and the 
thousand and one things that we denominate rubbish. 
The whole of it should go into the yard attached to the 
pig pen. This is a much better way of disposing of it, 
than endeavoring to make a " compost heap." With such 
a yard, there never need be any trouble in determining 
where the materials in the wheel-barrow should be emptied. 
You have always a place for all rubbish that is lying 
around loose, and it will be an easy matter to keep the 
premises neat and clean. 

" But oh, the smell !" exclaims a gentleman who let his 
Irish coachman keep a j^ig, "I cannot endure it." True; 
but this is the fault of the man, and not of the pig. A 
respectable, well brought up pig is the cleanest of all our 
domestic animals. Let him be washed once a week, and 
let plenty of dry earth, or soil of any kind, be scattered 
freely and frequently about the pen and yard, and all 
trouble from this source Avill cease, and the pig, if well 
bred, and Avell fed, will become one of the most popular 
features of the establishment, and he will be profitable 
also. He will pay in using up the refuse from the house 
and from the garden ; pay in delicious hams, spare-ribs, 
and tenderloin ; pay in firm, white, sweet lard ; and, above 
all, he will pay in furnishing a large, rich comjDost for the 
garden, which, with the addition of a little superphos- 
phate and guano, will pay double and treble in the 
abundance of crisp vegetables and well developed fruit. 

The main point in managing a pig pen in such a case is, 
to furnish an abundance of eai'th to keep it clean. The 
pigs will root it over and mix it with the manure. The 
earth, especially if of a sandy nature, will at once favor 



THE VALUE OF PIG MANUEE. 143 

decomposition and absorb the gases, and they in their 
turn will develop the jjlant-food in the soil, and we get a 
large quantity of manure that is free from smell, and not 
unpleasant to work over or use in the garden. 

Where horses are kept, the refuse litter from the stables 
should be thrown into the pig pen. Horse manure is apt 
to ferment too rapidly, while pig manure is very sluggish. 
Mixing the two together improves both; and besides, the 
horse manure, when dry, makes a good bed for the pigs, 
and saves litter. 

For garden vegetables, rich manure is especially valu- 
able. It is desirable to concentrate the manure as much 
as possible. "We do this by fermentation, which reduces 
the bulk, and at the same time renders the plant-food in 
the manure more immediately available. The plan here 
suggested, of throwing the dry manure from the horse 
stables into the pig pen, will tend still moi*e to concentrate 
the manure. Pigs void large quantities of liquid, which 
contains nearly all the nitrogen of the food. The horse 
manure will absoi-b this, and, of course, Ave get a much 
more concentrated manuie from the pig pen than when 
straw alone is used for bedding. We may not get any 
more plant-food from the two combined than we should 
if the droppings from the stable and from the pig pen 
w^ere used separately, but we get it in a more concentrated 
form and in a more available condition ; and this is a point 
of far greater importance than is usually supposed. We 
are inclined to believe that many of the diseases which 
affect vegetables in our old gardens are caused, or at least 
increased, by the excessive accumulation of carbonaceous 
matter in the soil, caused by the frequent use of manure 
deficient in phosphoric acid, potash and ammonia. The 
manure from a pig pen littered with horse droppings, 
thoroughly decomposed and mixed with earth, would 
furnish garden vegetables with all the plant-food they re- 
quired in an available condition, and there would be less 



144 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

danger from fungi tlian where a large quantity of poor 
manure was frequently used. 

On many farms half the value of the manure made by 
pigs is wasted. There is no part of the establishment so 
miserably managed as the pig pen. It is often nothing 
more than a pen of rails, with a little hovel in one corner, 
covered with corn-stalks, or straw, and the pigs are left 
to eat the corn on the ground, and wallow in mud and 
filth. If j^ork can be made at a profit in this way, it must 
be a good business when conducted properly. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

PIGGERIES AND PIG PENS. 

In selecting a site for a pig pen, the first requisite is 
dryness. A side hill, sloping towards the barn-yard, is a 
desirable location ; and if this cannot be found in a con- 
venient place, it is not a difficult or expensive matter, with 
a dirt scraper and a span of horses, to form a basin in the 
barn-yard, using the dirt to make a high and dry founda- 
tion for the pig pens, and forming a slope towards the 
basin, so that the liquid from the pens will rapidly drain 
away to the manure heap. If the soil is not dry, it must 
be drained with tile, or stone underdrains, at least two 
feet deep ; and if there is sufficient fall, four feet would 
be far better. These underdrains are not designed to 
carry off the water from the surface, but to make the soil 
underneath dry. Surface drainage must be attended to 
also ; for, as the liquid from well-fed jjigs is the most valu- 
able portion of the manure, it is especially important that 
the whole of it should either be absorbed by the straw or 
other bedding in the pen, or drain away to the manure heap. 

The next important consideration in locating the pig 



PIGGERIES AND PIG PENS. 145 

pen is, convenience of feeding. Where there is much milk 
or whey, the pen should be located with reference to con- 
veying it to pigs with the least labor. The only objection 
to having a pig pen near the house is, the smell ; but the 
labor required to carry the slops of the house, etc., through 
a dirty barn-yard, would j^rovide muck and other absorb- 
ent materials for rendering the pig pens free from all un- 
pleasant odor, and furnish a large quantity of valuable 
manure into the bargain. 

Pigs should have access to fresh water at all times, and 
the piggeries should be near a pump. If there is no well, a 
large cistern should be provided, and the rain-water from 
the buildings conveyed into it ; and, in any case, the 
buildings must be furnished with gutters, to prevent the 
water running on to the manure, and washing out its 
soluble and most valuable plant-food. 

Where stone is abundant, this is the cheapest and best 
material for the lower story of the pig pens. The floors 
may be laid with flags, and the joints grouted with water- 
lime and gravel, or the whole may be grouted with lime 
and gravel, taking care to provide good drainage. We 
should add, however, that a farmer of much experience, 
who built an expensive piggery, and flagged and grouted 
the bottom of the pens, says that his pigs did not thrive 
in them, and he subsequently put in plank floors. He 
thought the grouted floor was cold and damp. He is 
satisfied, at any rate, that pigs do much better on plank, 
than on stone, or grouted floors. 

Some of our own pig pens have no other floor than 
beaten earth / and we are inclined to think that there is 
no material superior to it, and certainly none so cheap. 
The great point is, to have the ground high enough, so 
that the pens shall be always dry. If not so high that 
the liquid will not run rapidly away, draw on several 
loads of clay, and pound it down hard with a beater. 
Keep the pen well littered, and always clean ; let the pigs 
7 



146 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

have access to fresh earth, ashes, charcoal, etc., and they 
will not root up the floor. 

In arranging the pig pen, special attention should be 
given to providing a ready means of cleaning out the 
manure, and supplying it with fresh bedding. A pig 
pen should be cleaned out every day, as regiilarly as we 
clean out our stables. If the pens are conveniently ar- 
ranged for the purpose, it is but a few minutes work, and 
it will soon lead the pigs to form cleanly habits, and thus 
save bedding. 

In pens for breeding sows, we have found it very con- 
venient, in cold weather, to have a partition between the 
sleeping and feeding apartments, with a sliding door, that 
can be easily closed. It is desirable, when pigs are to be 
made ready for the butcher in eight or nine months, that 
the sow should farrow early in March ; and it often hap- 
pens that this interesting event occurs during a severe 
snow storm. With a warm sleeping apartment, and with 
a door that can be closed at night, or at any time after 
the sow has been fed, thousands of pigs that are now lost 
might be saved. This plan is particularly essential where 
the feeding apartment is partially or wholly uncovered. 
But even where both apartments are covered, it is better 
to have a partition that can be opened in warm weather, 
and closed during cold storms. 

The only objection to this plan is, that the sow has not 
so much room, and there may be increased danger of her 
crushing the pigs against the sides of the pen. This ob- 
jection, however, is more apparent than real, from the 
fact, that no matter how large the pen is, the sow is almost 
certain to make her bed near one of the sides. She almost 
invariably, in pigging, places her hack against the rail or 
side of the pen, the object probably being to prevent the 
little pigs from getting on the wrong side of her, where 
they would, in cold weather, be likely to perish before 
they find the teats. Our breeding pens have a rail on the 



PIGGERIES AND PIG PENS. 



147 



inside, about six inches from the sides of the pen and 
about one foot high, but the sows before pigging take 
special pains to fill the sjiace with straw, and we are satis- 
fied that if they did not, the little pigs, when born during 
a cold night, would often get on the backside of the sow 
and be chilled to death. 

The accompanying plan of a piggery (fig. 29) is furnish- 
ed us by Dr. M, Miles, Professor of Agriculture in the 
Michigan Agricultural College, who writes : 

" It needs but little explanation, except in regard to the 
backside of the building. The lean-to is a shed, open above 
the pen partition, that separates it from the yard. This 




Fisr. 29. 



-PIGGERY AT THE MICHIGAN AGRICULTUKAL COLLEGE. 
ELEVATION. 



opening may be closed in winter, if desirable. The up- 
right, or main building, is not boarded up below the roof 
of the lean-to. Figure 30 gives the ground plan. The 
curved, dotted lines, show the swing of the doors, and 
the straight, dotted lines, mark the position of the low 
partitions, enclosing the bed. The plan of arrangement 
can be carried out with a single pen, or it can be indefinite- 
ly extended for large establishments. The shed for pro- 
tecting the manure can be readily cleaned out by a cart 
or wheel-barrow, running through the open doors, between 
the shed pens, while the swine are shut out in the yards, 
or in the front pens. I have not attempted to show the 
arrangement of the troughs, but simply mark their posi- 



148 



HARRIS ON THE PIG. 



tion. Swine can be easily changed from one pen to 
another, by shutting out others in the yard, or front pen. 
The upper story is for storing feed, or bedding, etc." 

The writer's pig pens are of a very simple kind, put up 
by an ordinary farm hand, as a temporary arrangement, 



r~ 



V 






I 

li. 












exei 


1 














UYOUff/i 




. i 


1 

i 


j 
i .- 




r 


8M5 

1 Bed 

i 


10X15 
\ Bed 


i>. 




Yard 



Ya/ti Yarc2 



Yard 



Yard 



Yard 



Yard 



Yard 



Fig. 30. — PIGGERY AT THE MICHIGAN AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. 
GROUND PLAN. 

but, as they are found to answer a very good purpose, in 
the absence of anything better, we give a description of 
them. 

The old pig pen, which we found on the farm, was 
placed on one corner of the bam-yard, selected, apparent- 
ly, because it was the lowest and wettest hole about the 
premises. The bottom was laid with plank, to keep the 
pigs out of the water. This was very well ; but the mo- 
ment the pigs stepped out of the pen, they plunged into 



PIGGERIES AND PIG PENS. 149 

a wet mass of manure and filth. They were obliged to 
wallow through tliis mud and manure every time they 
went to or from the pig pen. We have a weakness for 
hyacinths and roses, but found that the largest beds of 
them afforded no pleasure so long as there was such a pig 
pen in one corner of the garden. 

Thanks to the invention of India rubber boots, it was 
possible to get about on the backside of the pig pen. We 
endured this two years, being determined not to fall into 
the common error of new-comers, of tearing down old 
buildings before we had determined where to erect new 
ones. At length, however, with axes, crowbars, a span 
of horses, and a log chain, we made short work with the 
old pig pen. Not a stick of it was left standing. The 
ground being cleared, the fiirst thing was to dig an under- 
drain, 3 feet deep, underneath, and at the point where 
the surface-water settled ; we covered the tiles with stones 
to the top of the land, so that the water from a heavy 
rain could pass off rapidly. We may add, that the soil 
underneath the old pig pen,, for two feet deep, was found 
to be the blackest and richest of manure. With a plow 
and a dirt scraper, this was all removed, and ultimately 
drawn on to the land. This manuie was certainly worth 
three times as much as the old pig pen. 

The barn-yard was on a side-hill, the pig pen, as we 
have said, being on one of the lower corners. On the 
north side of the barn-yard there is a barn, with cow sta- 
bles underneath, and a horse barn at the north-west corner. 
Tlie pig pen was at the south-west corner. The 
first thing done, was to build a stone wall on the 
west side of the yard, 80 feet long, and 6 feet high, 
laid in mortar. The next thing was, to plow out the cen- 
ter of the barn-yard, and, with a dirt scraper, and a span 
of horses, make a basin 5 or 6 feet deep, with sloping 
sides. The dirt from this basin was emptied along the 
side of the stone wall, 15 or 16 feet wide, with a 



150 



HARRIS ON THE PIG. 




yl.3nV 



^Fians 



'SNi/\/3'Mod y Nivusy 





H 



^5 



<" g 




PIGGERIES \yrb PIG PENS. 151 

gentle slope from the wall, and the old hole, where the 
former pig pen stood, was raised in the same way. This 
gave us a dry foundation. As we have said, the wall was 
built 6 feet high, but, by the time we had scraped out the 
basin, and put the dirt on the side of the wall, we had 
raised the land 18 inches, or 2 feet. In other words, the 
land on the east side, towards the barn-yard, was nearly 
2 feet higher than on the opposite side of the wall. The 
underdrain alluded to, runs along the side of the wall, on 
the west side, outside the bam-yard, and now, instead of 
needing India rubber boots, we can walk around in slippers. 

On the top of the wall, a stick of timber was placed, 
and we proceeded to put up a common shed, with roof 
boards, 14 feet long, and battened in the ordinary way. 
Of course the roof slopes towards the wall, so as to carry 
the water outside of the barn-yard, where it soaks through 
the soil to the underdrain. This shed is divided off into 
pig pens, as shown in the diagram, figure 31. 

The pens are 12 feet deep, and 16 feet Avide. (It would 
have been better to have had the roof boards 16 feet long 
instead of 14 feet, as it would have added very little to 
the expense, and would have given us pens 14 feet deep.) 
Between each two pens is an alley, 3 feet wide, boarded 
up on each side about 3 feet high. The pig trough is 
placed along-side these partitions, and the food is poured 
into it from the alley. 

Each pen is divided off into two parts — one for sleeping, 
and the other for feeding. The sleeping apartment is 
boarded up tight, with a sliding door, against the wall. 
One of the boards that forms the partition between the 
feeding and sleeping apartment is hung on hinges, so that 
it can be opened or shut, according to the weather. It is 
fastened by a common wooden button. One of the boards 
which form the outside of the pen is hung in the same 
way. This is very important, as it enables us to give an 
abundance of fresh air in warm weather, and we can close 



152 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

up the pen tight during a storm. It is also convenient in 
cleaning out the pen and putting in fresh bedding. 

We do not recommend these pens to any one who can 
afford to build better ones. Their chief merit consists in 
their cheapness. They can be easily cleaned out, and sup- 
plied with fresh litter. Our pigs, when old enough, are 
allowed to run out every day, into the barn-yard, in win- 
ter, and the pasture in summer; and we find this arrange- 
ment convenient for letting them in and out of the pens, 
as each pen opens directly into the barn-yard. If well- 
bred, and properly treated, the pigs will go to their own 
pens as readily as cows or horses Avill go to their own 
stalls. This may be doubted by those who ill-treat their 
pigs — or, in other words, by those who treat their pigs in 
the common way. But it is, nevertheless, a fact, that 
there is no more docile or tractable animal on a farm than 
a well-bred pig. There is a good deal of human nature 
about him. He can be led where he cannot be driven. 
A cross-grained man will soon spoil a lot of well-bred 
pigs. They know the tones of his voice, and it is amus- 
ing to see what tricks they will play him. We have seen 
such a man trying to get the pigs into their respective 
pens, and it would seem as though he had brought with 
him a legion of imps, and that seven of them had entered 
into each pig. No sow would go with her own pigs, and 
no pigs would go with their own mother ; the store jiigs 
would go into the fattening pen, and the fattening pigs 
would go where the stores were wanted. Should he get 
mad, and use a stick, some active porker would lead him 
in many a chase around the barn-yard ; and Avhen one was 
tired, another pig, with brotherly affection, would take 
up the quarrel, and the old sows would stand by enjoying 
the fun. Let no such man have charge of any domestic 
animals. He is a born hewer of wood, and drawer of 
water, and should be sent to dig canals, or do night-work 
for the poudrette manufacturers. 



PIGGEKIES AND PIG PENS. 153 

At their regular feeding time, we can take twenty or 
thirty of our own pigs, and separate them into their re- 
spective pens in a few minutes. They inherit a quiet dis- 
position, and we would dismiss on the spot, any hired man 
who should kick one of them, or strike him with a stick, 
and we cannot bear to hear an angry word spoken near 
the pens. 

The alleys between the pens we find convenient for , 
storing away a small quantity of straw, a little of which J 
can be used every day, to replace that removed, in clean- 
ing the pens. By making a small hole in the side of the 
pen, little sucking pigs can come through, and eat a little 
milk or crushed oats out of a small trough, placed in the 
alley where the sow cannot get at it. 

We have some pens that have no partition between the 
sleeping and feeding apartment. They are not as warm 
as the others, but having abundance of straw, they answer 
very well for store or fattening pigs or for a breeding sow 
in mild weather. On the whole, however, it is better to 
have the sleeping apartment separate, the pigs being 
warm, and not so liable to be disturbed. 

For a breeding sow, the sleeping apartment is 10 x 12 ft,, 
and the feeding apartment 6x12 ft. Such a pen can be 
used also for six or eight store pigs, or for three or four 
fattening pigs. 

We have smaller pens, 12x12 ft., either undivided or 
divided into a sleeping apartment 7x 12 ft., and a feeding 
apartment 5 x 12 ft. Such a pen, if divided, answers very 
well for a litter of young pigs, after weaning, or for fat- 
tening two or three pigs, and we have used them for a 
small sow to farrow in. 

The most serious objection to this shed-made pig pen 
is, that the roof boards must be put on with great care, 
and well battened, or it will leak. They should, also, be 
well saturated with petroleum, to keep them from shrink- 
ing and warping. 



154 



HARRIS ON THE PIG. 



Paschal Morris, of Philadelphia, an extensive breeder 
of Chester Whites, describes bis plan of a piggery as 
follows : 

" The plan of the piggery, delineated in the accompany- 
in o- engraving, (fig. 32) is susceptible of reduction or exten- 
sion, for a larger or smaller number of pigs, and is intended 
to supersede the not only useless, but objectionable, as well 




Fig. 33. — PASCHAL morris' piggery. — ELEVATION. 

as expensive, mode of constructing large buildings under 
one roof, where confined and impure air, as well as the 
difliculty of keeping clean, interfere greatly with both 
health and tlirift. Twenty-five or tliirty breeding sows, 
farrowing at difierent periods of the year, can be accom- 
modated under this system of separate pens, by bringing 
them Buccessively within the enclosure, or an equal num- 



PIGGERIES AND PIG PENS. 



155 



ber of hogs can be fattened, without crowding or interfer- 
ence with each other. 

" Tlie entrance, as seen in the engraving, is on the north 
side of the building, which fi'onts the south, as does also 
each separate pen. The main building is 32 feet long, by 
12 feet wide, Avith an entrance gate, at each lower corner, 
to the yard of two first divisions. The entry, or room, 
in the center, is 8 feet wide, allowing space for slop bar- 
rel, feed chest, charcoal barrel, (almost as indispensable as 
feed chest,) hatchway, for access to root cellar, underneath 
the whole building, and also passage-way to second story. 
This latter is used for storing corn in winter, and curing 



N 



Piii 



S'a^sage oioai/ 



H 






Fig. 33. — PASCHAL MORKIS' PIGGERT. — GROUND PLAN. 

some varieties of seeds in summer. A wooden spout, 
with sliding valve, conveys feed to the chest below. The 
grain is hoisted to the second floor by a pulley and tackle 
on the outside, as observed in engraving, 

" The persj^ective of main building allows a partial view 
of platforms, surmounted by a board roof, and divisions 
in the rear. The ground plan, fig. 33, allows six of these on 
either side of the passage-way. The first two pens, to the 
right and left of the door, are 12 x 12 feet each, and at- 
tached to them are 25 feet in length of yard, by 15 feet 
wide. 

" All the yards are extended 3 feet wider than the 
building, which admits of the two entrance gates at the 
corners. 



156 HAERIS ON THE PIG. 

"Another division then commences, consisting of a 
raised platform, 6 to 8 feet wide, and extending the same 
■width as the first pen, with a board roof over it, and also 
boarded up on the back, which answers the purpose of a 
division fence, to separate from the pen behind. Twenty- 
five feet of yard are also attached to this, and the same 
arrangement is continued to all the six divisions. 

" We have found this board roof and wooden floor, on 
the north side of each pen, and fronting the south, to 
be ample protection in cold, wet, or stormy weather. 
The floor is kept perfectly clean, and even the feeding 
trough is not on it, on account of more or less of wet 
and dirt, always contiguous to the trough, which freezes 
in winter, and becomes slippery. 

" Each yard is used for the deposit of refuse vegeta- 
bles and weeds, litter, etc., thrown in from time to 
time, to be consumed or converted into manure. This 
is conveniently loaded into a cart, passing along on the 
outside of each range of pens. 

" The passage-way between each range of pens gives 
convenient access to the feeder for all the divisions. A 
door also communicates from one division to the otlier, to 
make changes when necessary ; and also a door, or gate, 
from each pen to the outside, so that one or more can be 
removed, and others introduced, without any confusion 
or interference from any of the other pens. The two 
pens under the main roof of the building, being more 
sheltered, are reserved for sows who may happen to fap 
row very early in the season, or in extreme cold weather, 
which is always avoided, if practicable. 

" For several reasons, the boiler for cooking food is in a 
rough shed, adjacent to the piggery, and entirely outside 
of it. There is no reason why this should be necessarily 
a part of the piggery. 

" The above plan is not ofiered as embracing much that 



PIGGERIES AND PIG PENS. 



157 




158 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

is novel in arrangement, but as one that combines many 
advantages — 

" 1st. Complete separation, as well as easy communica- 
tion between each pen, as well as to outside from each. 

" 2d. Avoiding close and confined air, and admitting of 
extension or alteration for a large or small number of pigs. 

" 3d. Facilities for keeping clean and receiving refuse 
vegetables and Aveeds, etc., for conversion into manure, 
and also for loading from each pen into a cart, passing 
along outside. 

" 4th. Cheapness. With the exception of the main 
building, all the rest can easily be erected by an intelli- 
gent farm hand." 

The illustrations (figs. 34, 35 and 36) were engraved for 
the American Agriculturist, from plans forwarded by Mr. 
Roseburgh, of Amboy, 111. They were designed and con- 
structed for use on his own premises, and have, there- 
fore, the merit of being the production of a practical man. 

Fig. 34 represents the elevation. The main building is 
22 by 50 feet, and the wing 12 by 16 feet. It is supplied 
with light and air by windows in front, ventilators on the 
roof, and by hanging doors or shutters in the upper part 
of the siding, at the rear of each stall or apartment — these 
last are not shown iu the engraving. 

Fig. 35 shows the ground plan. The main building has 
a hall, If, 6 feet wide, running the entire length. This is 
for convenience of feeding, and for hanging dressed hogs 
at the time of slaughtering. The remainder of the space 
is divided by partitions into apartments, A,B, for the feed- 
ing and sleeping accommodation of the porkers ; these 
ai-e each 8x16 feet. The rear division of each apartment, 
J5, J?, is intended for the manure yai'd. Each apartment 
has a door, D, D, to facilitate the removal of manure, and 
also to allow ingress to the swine when introduced to the 
pen. The floors of each two adjoining divisions are in- 
clined toward each other, so that the liquid excrements 



PIGGERIES AND PIG PENS. 



159 



and other filth may flow to the side where the opening to 
the back a])artment is situated. Two troughs, S, T, are 
placed in each feeding room. That in the front, iS, is for 
food, and 2] for clear water, a full supply of which is al- 
ways allowed. This is an important item, generally over- 
looked ; much of the food of swine induces thirst, and 
the free use of water is favorable to the deposition of fat. 
An excellent arrangement (shown in fig. 36,) is adopted 




^" 



\ 



V 



V 



=1= 



Fig. 35. — GROUND PLAN OP MR. ROSEBURGH'S PIGGERY. 



to facilitate the cleaning of the troughs, and the transfer- 
ring of the hogs to the main hall at slaughtering. The 
front partition of each apartment, 2^, (fig. 36,) is made 
separate, and contrived so as to be swung back, and fas- 
tened over the inside of the trough, T, at feeding time, or 
when cleaning the trough. It may also be lifted as high 
as the top of the side partition, II, when it is desired to 



160 



HARRIS ON THE PIG. 



take the hogs to the dressing table. Triangular pieces, 
E^ E, are spiked to each front partition, and swing with 
it, forming stalls to prevent their crowding while feeding. 
These are supported, when the apartment is closed, by 
notches in the inner edge of the trough, made to receive 
them. 

The wing, TFJ (fig. 35) is 12 by 16 feet. This answers for 
a slaughtering room„ In one corner, adjoining the main 
hall, is a well and pump, P, from which, by means of a 




36.— VIEW OF FRONT PARTITION. 



hose, water is conveyed to the troughs. At the opposite 
corner, E, is a large iron kettle, set in an arcli, for cook- 
ing food, and for scalding the slaughtered swine. We 
would suggest that, in many localities, it would be a de- 
sirable addition to have this wing buUt two stories high, 
the upper part to be used for storing grain for the hogs, 
and also that a cellar be made undei-neath for receiving 
roots. 

We give from the A merican Agriculturist illustrations 
taken from the working drawings of a pig-house which 
has recently been built at Ogden Farm (Newport, R. I.). 
It is submitted to those of our readers who may con- 
template improvements of this sort. The building is 
14 X 32 feet, and cost (built of rough pine battened, with 
cedar shingles on the roof) only $425, including the exca- 



PIGGERIES AND PIG PENS. 



161 



vation of the manure pits, and the boarding up of their 
sides. 

" Fig. 37, is the ground plan. There are four pens 8x10, 
two 6 X 10, and two 6 x 12. The troughs all open into the 
center area, and arc opened by swing posts, which expose 
them to the attendant for cleansing or filling, or to the 
swine for feeding, as may be desired. The two large bins 
at the sides of the entrance door are filled with dry earth, 
with which the pigs are treated to the luxury of the earth- 




Fig. 37. — GKOUND FLA:* of OGDEN FA.KM PIGGEUT. 

closet — to the great improvement of the air of the build- 
ing, and of the manure. The flooi-s of the pens are made 
of 2-inch planks, G inches wide, laid with 1-inch openings 
between them, wliich secures the immediate passage of 
the urine to the pits below, and the gradual working 
through of the dry manure, mixed with earth. In the 
center of the open floor stands a Prindle steamer, whose 
7-inch smoke-pipe discharges into the middle of a 12-inch 
galvanized iron ventilator, whereby efficient ventilation is 
secured. The food is cooked in pork-barrels, which may 



162 



HAEEIS ON TUE PIG. 



be moved about at pleasure ; the flexible steam hose, with 
an iron nozzle, conveying the steam to the bottom of the 
barrel. Fiofure 38 is a cross section, showinsr the manure 




Fig. 38. — CROSS-SECTION OF OGDEN FABM PIGGERY. 



pits, pens, etc. More than fifteen cords of manure can be 
stored in the pits, which are to be emptied through shut- 
tered windows. Figure 39 is the front elevation of the 




Fig. 39. — FRONT ELEVATION OF OGDEN FARM PIGGERT. 

building, which is to have small yards at the sides, com- 
municating with the pens by slopes from the outer doors. 
This house will accommodate from thirty to forty shoals, 
or a corresponding number of breeding animals." 



PIGGEKIES AND PIG PENS. 



163 



Mr. Geo. Mangles, a very extensive breeder and feeder 
of pigs in Yorkshire, England, has constructed a cheap 
and simple shed for fattening pigs, engravings of which, 
taken from Mr. Sidney's edition of Youatt on the Pig, we 
annex. Mr. Mangles' description is as follows : 

" For feeding pigs the best arrangement is a covered 
shed (shown in figure 40), kept dark, with partitions 
to liold three pigs in each division, as feeding-pigs do 
not require much exercise. If the pigs be fed regu- 




Fig. 40. — MR. mangles' covered shed for fattening pigs. 

larly, and a little fresh bedding spread every day, the 
animals sleep and thiive very fast. The improvement 
they make in a warm, covered shed, with plenty of fresh 
air, is astonishing. A feeding-pig cannot be too warm, if 
he has j^lenty of fresh air. 

" I have had pigs fatten very fast upon latticed boards, 
witli pits underneath for the droispings. The boards 
should be swept occasionally, and sawdust sprinkled over 




Fis. 41. — MR. mangles' shed. — GROUND PLAN, 



them and swept through. Tliis plan will only do for 
feeding-jjigs (not for pigs for sale, breeding, or exhibition), 
as their houghs swell very much; but young pigs always 
do better on boards than on stone floors. 

" The covered pig-shed (fig. 41), of which a plan ac- 
companies this description, will hold about sixty pigs ; the 



164 HARRIS ON THE PIG, 

roof Is of light spars, covered with felt, but thin boards 
would be better and cheaper in the end. The pigs thrive 
in an extraordinary manner in this shed, which is divided 
into nineteen pens, of different sizes, some of which I find 
useful at lambing time to put ewes and lambs in at night." 

DESCRIPTION OF ISOMETRICAL PLAN OF PIG-SHEDS, (Fig. 
42,) SHOWING THE INTERNAL ARRANGEMENTS. 

" Length of shed, 60 feet ; breadth, 18 feet, inside ; 
height of walls {of brick), 6 feet ; height of pens inside, 
3 feet, 6 inches ; thirty-three posts, 9 feet long, and 3 
inches square out of ground ; five posts, 5 feet long, by 
3 inches ; two strong posts for doors, 6 inches square. 

Pens. 

4 rails, 13 feet long, 3 inches by 1|- inches. 
8 " 9 " 
14 " 8 feet, 4 in., 
8 " 7 feet 
4 rails 6 " 
4 " 5 " 
600 poles, 3 feet 6 in. long, 3 in. by 1 inch. 

90 feet boards, 11 in. by 1 inch. 
150 boards for doors, 11 in. by 1 inch. 
" Wbod-woric for Hoof — Three boards for the center, 
to nail rafters to, 20 feet long, 9 inches deep, and 1 inch 
thick; sixteen rafters, 13 feet long, 3 inches by 2; 58 
rafters, 13 feet long, 3 inches by 1^ ; 120 feet of rails, 3 
inches by 14^, to lie on wall, to nail rafters to ; eight rails, 
20 feet long, 3 inches by 1^ ; ten lengths of felting, 
00 feet long; 1,660 feet boarding, required 11 inches 
broad. 

" There are air-holes in the brick walls to every pen, on 
one side ; on the side where the folding doors are set, 
there are four air-holes, and two holes for throwing the 
manure out. One end of the shed is boarded half way 



PIGGERIES A]Sn) PIG PENS. 



165 




P>4 



J 60 



HABRIS ON THE PIG. 



up, the rest of it up to the point of the gables of open 
palings ; the other end is boarded, and a large space is 
filled with Venetian blinds, or louvres. 

" The floor of the pens is of beaten soil ; a drain, 3 feet 
deep, filled with stones, leads to the liquid manure pit. 
The passage is laid with bricks, and the entrance is 
flagged, and a cart can be backed up to take the manure 
when the pig pens or pits are cleaned out. I generally- 
let the pits get full of manure, and contrive to empty- 




Fig 43. — SECTION OF COVERED FOOD HOUSE OF TATTENHALL PIGGERY. 

them against the turnip season. They are soon emptied; 
it takes one hand more than the ordinary- force for filling 
manure. 

" I whitewash the walls and partitions every year, and 
the man keeps the passage swept and covered with saw- 
dust. My troughs are iron, with many divisions, and 
filled by hand from the passage. Each j^it will hold five 
or six porkers, or three bacon pigs." 

One of the most elaborate piggeries in England is that 
at Tattenhall Hall, in Cheshire, forming a part of the 
model farm buildings on a dairy farm of 330 acres, in the 
occupation of Mr. George Jackson. The pig sheds are 
each six feet high, and the feeding troughs, and the pas- 
sage alongside them, are under cover. 

Figure 43 gives a section through the food-house, and 
figure 44 a ground plan of the arrangement. 

" The floors of the pig-yards and the pig-sheds are of 



PIGGERIES AND PIG PENS. 



167 



Strong sandstone flags. The two near sheds are provided 
with doors, to keep them warm in cold weather, and with 
iron doors, fifteen inches square, set in the outer wall, for 
ventilation in hot weather. A joist is set on three sides, 
one foot from the wall, and one foot from the floor, to 




Fig. 44. — GROUND PLAN OF TATTENHALL PIGGERY. 

prevent mothers from overlaying their young. The ' out- 
lets,' or yards, are too small ; but we were cramped for 
space. The drains to all the liquid manure-tanks are 
trapped. 

"'Whey,' says Mr. Jackson, 'forms the staple food of 
my pigs, the fatting ones getting a portion of Indian 



168 HARRIS ON^ THE PIG. 

corn-meal and barley-meal, with, occasionally, in winter, 
roots.' 

" It will be seen that the food-house is the receptacle of 
these kinds of food. The Windsor troughs, with swing 
doors, push back, and shut out the pigs while the solid 
food is put into the troughs, and one key locks uj) the 
whole. The whey is laid on to all the troughs from four 
large whey-cisterns in the buttery, and one hundred pigs 
are, all summer, daily fed with as many gallons of wliey 
per meal, ^7^ one minute^ by simply lifting a valve. By 
this plan is pig-feeding made easy., and they get properly, 
instead of laboriously and irregularly, fed. The iron 
gates are provided for enabling to cleanse and straw the 
sties. The rain-water goes off by a drain, and the liquid 
manure passes to the ' tank,' from which it is drawn by 
drain, at pleasure, into a liquid manure cart, in the middle 
of a ten-acre meadow. The fowls are over the food-house, 
the floors of which are flags, but ai'e equally adapted for 
boards." 

These plans are given merely for the purpose of fur- 
nishing useful hints. Each farmer must determine for him- 
self what kind of pig pens are best suited to his wants 
— to his location, system of feeding, etc. But whatever 
plan he may adopt, he should recollect that dryness, 
warmth, and good ventilation, are absolutely essential to 
the best success in pig feeding. 

There is one point in Mr. Mangles' plan that is worthy 
of consideration, and that is, the " beaten soil " for the 
floors of the pens, and the stone di'ain, three feet deep, 
under the pens, to carry the drainage to the liquid manure 
pit. Where such thorough drainage is provided, there 
can be no doubt that earth floors, beaten hard, answer a 
good purpose, and save much expense. When the floors 
are made of plank, they soon get worn in holes, and the 
liquid soaks through the joints; and if not ultimately 
lost, we loose the use of it for several years, or until the 



SWILL BARRELS, PIG TEOtJGIIS, ETC. 169 

pen needs a new floor, and tlie soil underneath is thrown 
out and replaced with fresh earth. With beaten clay- 
floors, very little liquid will soak into the earth, and if it 
does, the plant-food which it contains would be absorbed 
near the surface, and, bj^ scraping the floors, it would all 
find its way to the manure heap. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

SWILL BARRELS, PIG TROUGHS, ETC. 

In some convenient place, near the pig pens, there 
should be a receptacle for the wash from the house, milk, 
whey, waste vegetables, and other refuse. This is often 
nothing more than an old pork or cider barrel. It is dif- 
ficult to conceive of anything more inconvenient. It is 
too high, and too circumscribed. A far more convenient 
and inexpensive arrangement is to make a tub out of two- 
inch pine planks — say six feet long, two feet and a half 
wide, and two feet, or two and a half or three feet high — 
according to the number of pigs kept. Or, what is better 
still, make such a tub out of plank twelve feet long, and 
have a partition in the middle. In this way you have 
two tubs in one. The food for the store pigs can be 
kept in one, and that for the fattening pigs in the other. 
In our own case, we find it desirable to have two such 
tubs, each twelve feet long, and divided in the middle. 
Such tubs are often made flaring, being wider at the top 
than at the bottom. We do not think there is any ma- 
terial advantage in this, and it requires more skill to make 
the grooves fit true, and it is not so easy to furnish them 
with a tight-fitting cover. The latter is very desirable. 
It should be put on with hinges, and made of planed and 
8 



170 



HARRIS ON THJE PIG. 



matched inch boards, and divided in the center of the 

tub, so that one part may be closed while the other is 

open, if desired. 

At the house, a barrel should be placed in some eon- 

'venient place, for the reception of all dish-water and re- 
fuse. If this barrel is 
set on wheels, as shown 
in the engraving, fig. 45, 
copied from the Ameri- 
can Agriculturist, it can 
be easily conveyed to the 
pig pens, and emptied 
into one of the tubs 
above described. It 

Fig. 45. — PORTABLE SWILL BARBEL. , i t ^i n -3 

should then be mixed 
with a little meal, and allowed to remain until the 
particles of meal become quite soft. It is then much 
more easily digested. If a slight fermentation takes 
place, by which the starch of the meal is converted into 
sugar, and a little of it into alcohol, the pigs appear to 
relish it all the better. A small amount of meal fed to 
store pigs in this manner, in summer, enables us to obtain 





Fig. 46.— HEWN-OUT PIG TROUGH. 

much more benefit from the milk, whey, and house wash 
than when fed alone. 

Every pig pen should be provided with two troughs — 
one for food, and the other for water. 

When wood is abundant, the commonest, and jierhaps 



SWILL BARRELS, PIG TROUGHS, ETC. 



171 



the cheapest pig trough, is made by taking a log about 
fifteen inches in diameter, and, with an axe and adze, 
hewing out the inside. For out-door feeding, they are 
the most convenient troughs we are acquainted with, as 
they are. not easily upset. 

When used for pigs confined to pens, the log should be 
hewn out in two divisions, one for food, and the other for 
water, as shown in fig. 46. A twelve-foot log will give 
about six feet of trough for food, and two and a half to 
three feet for water. 

A better and equally simple pig trough is made from 
two-inch pine or hemlock planks. The planks should be 
from nine to fifteen inches wide, according to the size of 




Fig. 47. — PLANK PIG TROUGH. 

the pigs, and the number in a pen. The planks are 
nailed firmly together at right angles, with twenty- 
penny nails, put nine inches apart. There should be 
either two troughs for each pen, or the one trougli should 
be divided into two compartments, one for water, and the 
other for food. The ends of the plank must be sawed off 
square and true, and a piece of plank nailed at each end, 
sufficiently tight to hold water. Such a trough is much 
more likely to leak at the ends than at the bottom, and 
great care should be taken to saw them ofi" square, and 
nail them on tight. When both planks are the same 
width, the plank that is to be against the side of the pen, 
and farthest from the pigs should, in nailing, be placed on 
the other. This will make that side of the trough two 
inches higher than the one next the pigs, and they will 



172 



HARRIS ON THE PIG. 



be less likely to waste the food. The end pieces should 
project about four inches beyond the edge of the trough, 
as shown in fig. 47. This allows it to stand so firmly 
that the pigs will not be likely to upset it. 

Before being used, the troughs and the swill tub should 
be thoroughly saturated with petroleum. This will not 
only preserve the wood, but do much to prevent it from 
warping, and the pigs will not be so likely to gnaw holes 
in the troughs. 

The American Agriculturist gives the following plans 
of pig troughs which allow the food to be distributed 
along the trough from the outside: 

"The pens (fig. 48), being made of horizontal boards, 




Fig 48 — A CONVENIENT PIG TROUGH 

nailed to posts about 6 feet apart, the troughs are accu- 
rately fitted between two posts, so as to project a little 
outside the boarding, and the board above the trough is 
nailed on a little above it ; so that, when the edge is 
chamfered ofi" a little, any thing may be easily poured 
into it throughout its whole length. This arrangement 
admits of putting partitions, nailed to the pen above the 
trough, and to the floor, dividing the trough into narrow 



SWILL BARRELS, PIG TROUGHS, ETC. 



173 



sections, so that each pig shall get only his share. The 
only objection to this form of trongh i^, that it must be 
cleaned out from inside the pen. 

" A modification of this arrangement may be made, the 
trough coming flush with the outside boarding, and the 
board above it being simply taken off and nailed on the 
inside of the posts, and stayed by a piece nailed perpen- 
dicularly, so as to stiffen and prevent its springing. 

" In figure 49 we show nn old plan which, after all, is one 
of the very best contrivances for hog troughs. The 




Fig. 49.— SWINGING DOOR PIG TKOUGH. 

trough is set projecting somewhat outside the pen, and 
placed as in the other pen, filling all the space between 
two posts. Over the trough is hung a swinging door or 
lid, some 3 feet wide, and as long as the trough. A 
wooden bolt is placed upon this lid, so that when it is 
swung back and bolted, the hogs are shut out completely 
from the trough ; and when it is swung out or forward 
and bolted, they have access to it again. This style of 
trough is very easily cleaned out. The lid may have iron 
rods, beat into a V-shape, and having flattened ends, 



174 



HARRIS ON THE PIG. 



turned in opposite directions, screwed upon it, and so 
placed that they will entirely separate the hogs — when 
feeding. This contrivance is shown in fig. 50. Some ar- 
rangement of this kind will be found as great a conven- 




Fig. 50. — SWING DOOR WITH FENDERS. 

ience as it is an economy. The patented hog troughs 
are usually expensive, and no better, if so good. For our 
own use, we greatly jjrefer these simple fixtures, which 
may be easily made, rencAved, or repaired, as occasion 
may require, with the common tools which every farmer 




Fig. 511— CAST-IRON PIG TROUGH. 

should have and know how to use. Cast-iron pig troughs, 
of diiferent patterns, are sold at the agricultural imple- 
ment stores. Oue of them is shown in fig. 51 ; the weight 
of the one figured is one hundred and ten pounds. 



MANAGEMENT OF PIGS. 175 

CHAPTER XVIIL 

MANAGEMENT OF PIGS. 

The object of keeping pigs differs in different places 
and circumstances. The dairy farmer keeps pigs princi- 
pally for the purpose of turning his whey and skimmed 
milk to good account. The grain-growing farmers, in the 
older settled parts of the country, keep pigs to consume 
the slops of the house, and to pick up scattei'ed grain 
around the barns and on the stubbles, and to consume, 
and turn into pork, small potatoes, and many other arti- 
cles that would otherwise be wasted. At the West, where 
com is cheap, and the expense of sending it to market 
very great, pigs are kept for the purpose of " packing 
fourteen bushels of corn into a three-bushel barrel." In 
the vicinity of the Atlantic cities, pigs are kept, or might 
be kept, for the purpose of manufacturing out of pur- 
chased food, nice, fresh pork, and rich, valuable manure. 
And, indeed, in all sections where pigs are kept, the value 
of the manure should be taken into consideration. 

PIGS ON DAIRY FARMS. 

There is no other food on which young pigs thrive so 
well as on skimmed milk and Indian meal. Pigs are also 
very fond of whey, and do well on it provided they have 
a liberal allowance of pea-meal and Indian meal fed with 
it. To keep pigs on whey alone is a great waste of food 
and time. On skimmed milk, and the run of a clover 
pasture, a well-bred, young pig, will grow rapidly ; but 
even in this case a little corn-meal could be fed with very 
decided economy and advantage. The oil and starch of 
the corn restore to the skimmed milk the fat-forming 
material which has been removed in the butter, and, in 
effect, convert it into new milk again. But it is very de- 



176 HAKEIS ON THE PIG. 

sirable that the meal should be cooked by pouring upon 
it boiling water, and stirring it carefully until it is made 
into " pudding." In the dairy there is usually much hot 
water thrown away, which might be used for this purjDose, 
without cost, and with little labor. 

Since the introduction of cheese factories, dairy farmers 
cannot keep as many pigs through the summer as former- 
ly, but early in the spring, before the factories commence 
operations, the milk is used at home ; and it is well to 
have some litters of young pigs, which can be sold to 
good advantage soon after weaning. The sows can be 
summered on grass and on the slops of the house, and an- 
other litter would be obtained in the fall. When cows 
are well wintered, and fed on more or less grain or oil- 
cake, then fall pigs can be kept through the winter in 
good condition at very slight expense, and they will be 
valuable to sell to the factories or other feeders the next 
summer. Usually, this system will pay better than at- 
tempting to fatten them at home. 

PIGS ON GRAIN FARMS. 

On farms where much grain is grown, and only a few 
cows are kept, it is usually not profitable to keep a large 
stock of pigs. The common mistake made, however, is 
not in keeping too many, but in not feeding them liberal- 
ly. As a rule, the pigs are kept on short allowance until 
they are shut up to fatten, after the corn is ripe, although 
there can be no doubt that a bushel of com, fed to pigs 
while on clover during the summer, will produce double 
or treble as much pork as a bushel of new corn fed in 
cool weather, in the autumn, when the pigs haA^e nothing 
but com. A few fall pigs can be kept in the yards dur- 
ing the winter to good advantage, especially if the cattle 
are fed grain. But it is a great mistake to stint young 
pigs through tiie winter, although it must be confessed 



MANAGEMENT OF PIGS. 177 

that it is a very common one. The sows, and any spring 
pigs that may be wintered over, will pick up the lion's 
share of the scattered grain and other food in the yards ; 
and while it is often inconvenient to separate the young 
pigs from the older ones, yet it is not a difficult matter to 
make a hole in one of the sides of the pens that will ad- 
mit the young pigs throiigh, and exclude the large ones, 
and in this Avay the young pigs can be fed more and bet- 
ter food This is a very important point. The young 
pigs should be kept growing rapidly through the winter 
and spring months. They should be in a condition that 
most farmers would pronounce " too fat." Young, well- 
bred pigs, so wintered, can be summered in a clover pas- 
ture at comparatively little cost, and it is astonishing how 
fast they will grow. We have kept a lot of grade Essex 
fall pigs during the summer on a rich clover pasture near 
the barn-yard, and the slop from the house, without any 
grain, that were sold at an extra price on the first of Oc- 
tober, to "top-ofi"" a car load of fat pigs sent to the New 
York market. And the whole secret of the matter, if se- 
cret it is, was in feeding the young pigs liberally through 
the winter. 

Few things would pay a grain growing farmer better 
than to raise peas for his pigs. No matter how "buggy" 
the peas may be, the bugs or beetles remain in the peas 
until about the first of November ; and when the peas are 
fed out before this time, the pigs will eat peas and bugs 
togethei', and there will be little loss. Nothing makes 
firmer or better pork and lard than peas, an i the manure 
from pea-fed pigs is exceedingly rich. A heavy crop of 
peas, too, is a capital crop to precede winter wheat. They 
will smother the weeds, and, if sown early, are ofi" the 
land in good season to allow thorough working of the 
land before wheat sowing. If other food is scarce, a few 
of the peas may be cut in June, as soon as the pods are 
formed, and fed green to the pigs, and a daily allowance 
8* 



178 HAKRIS ON THE PIG. 

may be fed until the peas are fully ripe. In fact, many 
fiirmers feed all their peas to the pigs without thrashing. 
But this is a "wasteful plan. When the peas are ripe, 
pigs will do much better on them cooked, or at least 
soaked in water for twenty-four hours before feeding. 
And in addition to this advantage, pea straw, when well 
cured and carefully harvested, is nearly as good for sheep 
as clover hay, and certainly will much more than pay the 
expense of thrashing. A large farmer in Michigan, who 
has made himself and his farm I'ich, attributes his success 
principally to growing a large quantity of peas every 
year, and feeding them to pigs. He thrashes the peas, 
and cooks them, but does not grind them, as he thin^ks 
cooking is better and cheaper than grinding. The manure 
from his pea-fed pigs has made his farm one of the most 
productive in the State. 

FATTENING PIGS NEAR LARGE CITIES. 

Nurserymen, seed growers, and market gardeners near 
our large cities require great quantities of manure. Hith- 
erto they have obtained it from the horse and cow stables 
in the city, but the demand is greater than the supply, 
and the price is so high that many are looking to other 
sources for manure. In Rochester, the price of manure 
from the stables is $1.25 per load, and by the time it is 
well rotted, it requires three loads of fresh manure, as 
drawn, to make one load of rotted manure, as applied to 
the land. 1 his, added to the expense of drawing, brings 
the cost of the manure up to about |100 per acre. In 
Geneva, N. Y., where the nursery business is carried on 
very extensively, the price of manure is even higher still, 
or 11.50 per load at the stables. And there, as well as at 
Rochester, some of the nurserymen are turning their at- 
tention to fattening sheep in winter for the purpose of 
obtaining cheaper and better manure. The result, so far, 



MANAGEMENT OF PIGS. 179 

has been eminently satisfactory where the nurserymen 
have land enough to raise their own clover hay. 

But where land is very high, and where, consequently, 
it Avill not pay to raise clover hay, some other system 
must be adopted. Pig feeding would seem to offer the 
best prospects of producing the richest manure at the 
least cost. 

For this purj^ose, the first requisite is a good breed of 
pigs, that will mature early, and fatten at any age, so that 
they could be disposed of at any time when choice fresh 
pork was in demand, at good prices. Unfortunately, such 
jngs are difficult to find, and will continue very scarce 
until formers learn the importance of using none but 
thorough-bred boars, of a highly refined breed, with 
properly selected common sows. With young pigs, so 
hred, we have no doubt that the system of feeding pigs 
on purchased food might he profitably adopted near our 
large cities. Certainly, manure could be obtained in this 
way at far less cost, in proportion to its A^alue, than is now 
generally paid for it. A study of the table on page 139, 
showing the value of manure from different foods, and an 
examination of the results of Lawes' and Gilbert's experi- 
ments in feeding pigs with different foods, showing what 
kinds produce the greatest increase, will enable any one 
to select feeding stuffs with judgment and economy. 
Three things have to be considered : the cost of the food ; 
its feeding value, and the value of the manure obtained 
from its consumption. We have given all the data nec- 
essary to enable any intelligent man to engage in this 
business with confidence and success. If there is any 
error, it is on the safe side, for we are satisfied, from our 
own experience, that well-bred pigs can be so fed as to 
give a greater increase from the food consumed than was 
ohtained in Mr. Lawes' experiments, when no special at- 
tention was paid to the breed. In this connection some 
useful hints may be obtained from the following chapter. 



180 



HARRIS ON THE PIG. 




ENGLISH EXPERIENCE IN PIG FEEDING. 181 

CHAPTER XIX. 

ENGLISH EXPERIENCE IN PIG FEEDING. 

In some resjjects, the farmers of England and the farm- 
ers of the Middle and Eastern States are similarly situa- 
ted. England does not raise scarcely half as much wheat 
as is needed by her population, and the same is true of 
our Middle States ; while in New England, enough wheat 
is not raised to support one-tenth of the population. 
English fanners are thrown into direct competition with 
the produce of all other countries, and the farmers of 
New England and the Middle States have to compete 
with the produce of the Western States. Prices depend 
less on the home crop than on the yield in those countries 
from which the principal supply is derived. A poor crop 
at home is not necessarily compensated by higher prices. 
And, therefore, it is particularly important to guard as 
much as possible against poor crops from unpropitious 
seasons. High farming is found to be the best safeguard. 
But high farming not only requires thoroughly drained 
and well tilled land, but abundance of manure. English 
farmers must compete with the chea]) land of our West- 
ern States, and also with the cheap labor of Ireland and 
the continent. But, in spite of all this, they continue 
more prosperous, as a Avhole, than the farmers of any 
other country. 

We cannot adopt the English system of agriculture, 
but the principles on which it rests are as applicable here 
as there. What the farmers of New England and the 
Middle States require, is more capital, more labor, and 
more manure. And, in many places, manure can be ob- 
tained cheaper and better from feeding well-bred pigs 
than in any other way. Tliis, at any rate, has been the 
experience of many English farmers, and the prospects 



182 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

are still more favorable in the New England and other 
Atlantic States, because food is clieaper than it is in Eng- 
land, and the large cities are not as well supplied with 
choice fresh pork as are those of England, and conse- 
quently it brings, or would bring, if it could be obtained, 
a relatively higher price, as compared with beef, mutton, 
and barreled pork. 

In 1862, Mr, Baldwin, of Breton House, near Birming- 
ham, delivered a lecture before the Worcestershire Agri- 
cultural Society on the breeding and feeding of pigs, in 
which he said : 

" In 1845, he entered upon a farm at Kingsnorton. In 
1846, he purchased two gilts and a boar, of the Tamworth 
breed, and although he began breeding with only three 
pigs in 1846, in 1851 he sold £1,000, say |5,000, worth 
of store and fat pigs Avithin one year ; and in the years 
1852, 1853, 1854, and 1855, he sold about £1,000 worth 
each year. The idea of feeding such numbers of pigs 
was first conceived by him at a county meeting at Wor- 
cester, in 1849, after free trade had come into full opera- 
tion. One of the speakers produced many samples of 
foreign produce at amazingly low prices. Among them 
was a good sample of Egyptian beans, at 9s. and 9s. 6c?. 
per bag ; Indian corn at the same price, and Dantzic 
wheat, also, very low. ' Gentlemen,' exclaimed the speak- 
er, ' can you grow them at these j^rices ?' He (Mr. 
Baldwin) looked on the bright side of the question, and 
began to ask himself how he might turn the low price of 
grain to good account. It struck him that, as he had a 
great many store pigs, he would feed them instead of 
selling them as stores. He accordingly bought a large 
quantity of Indian corn, at from 9s. to 9s. Gd. per bag, 
[200 lbs.], to begin with; and within two years and a 
quarter from that time, he bred, fed, and sold £2,000 worth 
of pigs, and cleared, after paying all expenses, £500, be- 



ENGLISH EXPERIENCE IN PIG FEEDING. 183 

sides making a vast amount of manure, which he consid- 
ered far better than guano, because more durable. 

" The i^lan which he adopted in breeding was, to put 
the sows to the boar in November, and pick the breeders 
principally from the earliest pigs, when he got his stock 
np to about forty breeding sows. In picking the breed- 
ers, he used to pick them several times over, as it fre- 
quently happened that those which looked the best and 
prettiest when young, altered considerably when they 
got three, four, and five months old. The rule was to 
pick long-growing pigs, and those that were straight and 
thick through the shoulder and heart, and experience had 
convinced him that his method of choosing was a correct 
one. Pie always kept to the Tamworth breeds, generally 
purchasing the boars, but breeding the sows. If he found 
the pigs getting too fine, he purchased a good sti-ong 
boar, and if the animals exhibited tendencies the other 
way, he picked a boar of good, small bone, but was al- 
Avays particular to select a boar that was thick through 
the shoulder and heart, and a straight-growing pig, of the 
same color and breed. By carefully following this plan, 
he got the breed so good, that it was a rare occurrence to 
see even a middling pig in all the herd, though he bred 
from 250 to 300 each year. His plan of keeping was as 
follows : As soon as the sows littered, they were kept 
on kibbled [crushed] oats, scalded, with raw Swedes or 
cabbage ; and when the pigs got to the age of three 
weeks or a month, he turned the sows out from them for 
a short time every day, and gave the pigs a few peas or 
Indian corn while the sow was away. When the weather 
was fine and warm, the pigs went out with the mother 
into a grassy field for a short time. He found that }'Oung 
pigs, from the age of three weeks, required dirt or grit ; 
and, therefore, if the weather was bad, and they could 
not be turned out, it was necessary to put some grit into 
the sty. This was quite important, as he believed it waa 



184 HAEUIS ON THE PIG. 

necessary for the proper digestion of their food. He had 
had young pigs looking very bad and drooping, but when 
turned out, that they might get dirt, they soon became 
all right again. In fact, it was absolutely necessary, dur- 
ing the whole life of a pig, to allow it an opportunity of 
getting grit or dirt, or it would not thrive Avell. 

" At seven or eight weeks old, all the pigs he did not 
require for breeding he had cut, and began to wean them 
a fortnight afterwards. He then turned them into a grass 
field, with a hovel for them to run into, and allowed each 
pig a quart per day of peas, Egyptian beans, or Indian 
com. He gave them one pint of the corn in the morning, 
and the other in the evening, with regularity as to time 
and quantity, and found it better to give it them on the 
grass, in a clean place, each time, than in a trough, as it 
prevented quarreling, and each pig got his share. With 
this quart of corn per day, and what grass they got dur- 
ing the seven months of the year, with nothing but water 
to drink, the pigs would, on the average, make 5 lbs. of 
pork, each, per week. After eight months, he allowed an 
extra half pint of corn per day. At the present price of 
corn (1862), the allowance would cost about Is. per week 
[24 cents], for each pig ; grass, 4 cents ; attention of man, 
2 cents ; total cost. Is. od. (30 cents), leaving a profit of 
24 cents per week on each pig, when j)ork was 12 cents 
per pound ; it was now 14 cents. 

" One man attended — well, to from 200 to 300 pigs ; he 
was an Irishman, for few Englishmen liked the job suf- 
ficiently well to take an interest in them, and carelessness 
on the part of the man materially decreased the profits. 

" He kept the store sows, when with pig, the same as 
the other stores. They ran about in a field until a fort- 
night before pigging, when he placed them in a covered 
shed, so constructed as to admit as much sun as possible. 
Young pigs, kept in the manner described, were always 
nearly fat enough for porkers, and did not require more 



ENGLISH EXPERIENCE IN PIG FEEDING. 185 

than two or three weeks feeding on meal. It was time 
enough to begin to feed pigs for bacon at eight or ten 
months old. Good breeding sows he allowed to have 
two farrows, and sometimes three, but never more, and 
then fed them for bacon, supplying their places with, 
young sows. 

" In selling store pigs, he charged a certain price j^er 
pound, and allowed the purchaser to pick the pigs from 
the field, which plan always gave satisfaction, and secured 
a return of custom. It was desirable, in breeding ani- 
mals, to have as little bone as possible, in proportion to 
flesh. He had tested a cut sow of his breed, which 
weighed 640 lbs., and the whole of the bones, after the 
flesh had been boiled from them, Aveighed only 21 lbs., so 
that for every pound of bones there was 32 lbs. of meat. 
His pigs made 1 lb. of flesh for every 4 lbs. of good In- 
dian corn, barley or pea-meal ; as a rule, he j)referred the 
Indian corn. He considered it always to be more profita- 
ble to feed good food than upon that of inferior quality. 
As a rule, pigs would thrive better for being turned out 
once a day, except in wet weather, and would also be 
healthier, more active, and have a cleaner appearance. 
One of the greatest pleasures his breeding afibrded him 
was to see the number of laboring men who came to buy 
from him, and he hoped to live to see the day when every 
laboring man would have a good pig in his sty." 

Mr, Baldwin's experience is the more valuable, as he 
seems to keep pigs to sell to the butcher, or to those who 
intended to fatten them. His success is not due to selling 
thorough-bred pigs at high prices for breeding purposes. 

A Yorkshire farmer, who occupies 280 acres of land, 
half under plow, and half in grass, and who raises and 
feeds a large number of the small Yorkshire and Cum- 
berland breed of pigs, writes Mr, Sidney as follow^s : 

" I am a farmer, and I keep pigs for profit, and I have 
no stock that pays like them ; but I have found a surpris- 



186 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

ing difference in the feeding qualities of the different 
bi-eeds, and I am not astonished at farmers saying pigs 
will not i^ay. I think the medium size pay better than 
the large bacon hogs. For eleven years I have kept an 
account of all my pigs cost, and what I sell, and at the 
year's end I know the truth. * * I spend §3,500 a 
year for purchased food, but little on any manure, except 
lime and salt. I make all the manure I can, and make it 
good. I calculate I get ray pig manure free, but not my 
cattle manure. For the first fortnight the little pigs live 
upon the sow's milk. Then they will begin to eat a little 
dry wheat. As soon as they begin to eat fi-eely, have a 
place where they can creep to feed, where the sow cannot 
get at their meat ; and feed them separately, twice a day, 
with milk, meal, and bran, and once a day with dry wheat. 
But beware of over-feeding them, or any young animals. 
At six weeks old, the boar pigs are usually castrated, and 
at eight weeks old, the litter may be Aveaned by taking 
away the sow by degrees. But if the sow is not wanted 
to breed again directly, and you want to forward your 
pigs, it is a good plan to let them be with the sow, at 
night only, until they are twelve weeks old, and then they 
ought to be in very good condition. 

" After twelve weeks, the treatment will depend upon 
what they are wanted for. If to be made the best of, 
feed them for the next twelve weeks on boiled meal, vege- 
tables, and a little bran — two feeds a day — keeping about 
six together in a sty, warm, and well bedded. Keep 
them on cooked food, and a little meal every day, until 
within six weeks of being killed, when they should have 
as much barley-meal and water as they can eat. It is a 
waste of money to give them raw meal all the time, but 
they should always be gaining until the slaughtering day 
— to go back is a loss." 

It would seem that the plan this farmer adopts, or at 
least that which he considers best, varying in practice 



ENGLISH EXPERIENCE IN" PIG FEEDING. 187 

probably with the demand for fresh jiork, is to push his 
pigs furward as rapidly as possible, and sell them when 
six months old. And this is the system which, in the 
neighborhood of our large cities, we believe, will be found 
the most profitable in the United States. For this pur- 
pose we unquestionably require pigs of some of the small 
breeds, that will mature early. 

A dairy farmer, who keeps Berkshire pigs, says : " My 
stores, farrowed in March, are fatted off by December, 
making from ten to twelve score, although I have oftea 
had them much heavier. Pigs of this weight are always 
more salable in the London Newgate Market, at sixpence 
or a shilling a score more than heavier ones. I have 
grown a pig of the Berkshire breed over 40 score (800 lbs), 

" Second litters, coming in about December, at thres 
months old, will do for pork. The sow will then be in 
again in March or April. 

" The whey runs from my dairy into a vault near the 
piggery, in which I have large bins to mix the whey and 
meal together, allowing it to ferment for three days before 
using it. If I am well off for roots, I have a good quan- 
tity pressed, steamed, and minced with whey and barley- 
meal. In the Avinter, a few beans or lentils, ground. If 
convenient, give warm food. Have not more than six 
pigs together. Warm sties, clean, and the pigs well 
groomed with brush and linseed oil, which will cleanse 
the skin, and kill the lice with which they are often an- 
noyed." 

Another pig feeder recommends pulping roots, leaving 
them to ferment for thirty-six hours, and then mixing the 
pulp, by alternate spadefuls, with meal. This he thinks 
as good as cookmg, and much cheaper. 

He does not mention the kind of roots used, but man- 
gel wurzel, beets, and parsnips, are best adapted to our 
climate and circumstances. With rich land, and good 
culture, a large amount of nutritious food can be obtained 



188 HAEEIS ON THE PIG. 

per acre, and feeding them out to pigs, with meal, will 
make very rich manure, and thus we obtain the means to 
raise more food, and keep on increasing the productive- 
ness of the land. 

A Yorkshire pig breeder says : " I have had a grea^ 
many York-Cumberland pigs that gained — 

7 lbs. each, per week, up to ten weeks old. 
10 lbs. per week for the next seven weeks. 
14 lbs. per week until they weighed 23 stone. 

" I can put on 18 lbs. a week until a certain time, and 
then they begin to put on less and less every day, until 
at last you feed at a loss. The pig should be killed when 
the point of profit for daily food is turned. For this 
reason the pig should be weighed weekly. 

" After trying nearly all the diiFerent kinds of cereals, 
and weighing my pigs once every fourteen days, I have 
come to the conclusion, if you want to gain weight fast, 
give plenty of barley-meal and milk ; if you want to 
make the most of the food consum^ed, give boiled vegeta- 
bles and boiled meal, and finish off with raw meal. 

" On the first plan, time is saved at the expense of food 
consumed. On the second plan, time is lost, and the 
food saved." 

If by " food " is meant meal, the statement is probably 
correct ; but that we ever save food, absolutely, by feed- 
ing slowly, is a projiosition that has never been proved, 
and is contrary to sound theory and the general experi- 
ence of the best feeders. A fattening animal should cer- 
tainly have all the food it can digest and assimilate. To 
keep him on short allowance is to waste both time and 
food. 

Another correspondent of Mr. Sidney writes : " With 
tolerably good land, and no lack of capital, a farmer can- 
not do better than cultivate white crops alternately, and, 
with a moderate dairy, confine his stock exclusively to 
pigs. Let him consume his oats, sell off both wheat and 



ENGLISH EXPERIENCE IN PIG FEEDING. 189 

barley, and buy Indian corn and bran. Indian corn is 
about the same price as barley, but sixty, instead of fifty- 
two pounds to the bushel. A bushel of barley-meal is 
generally supposed to add 10 lbs. to the weight of a pig. 
I have found, in my latest experiments, that a bushel of 
Indian corn produced an increased weight to a pig of 
15 lbs. 

" Indian corn," says Dr. Voelcker, " is richer in fat- 
forming matters than almost any other description of 
food. The ready-made fat in corn amounts to from five 
and a half to six per cent. But animals should not be 
fed exclusively on Indian corn, because the flesh-forming 
matter in it is small. Bean-meal [or pea-meal] supplies 
the deficiency. Five pounds of Indian corn, ground or 
crushed, to one pound of bean-meal [or pea-meal], is a 
mixture which contains the proportions of flesh-forming 
and fiittening matters nicely balanced." 

Another Yorkshire farmer writes : "We are now (1860) 
fattening pigs on wheat costing |1.20 per bushel [in gold], 
which, as large bacon pigs are selling at 12 cents per 
pound, leaves a handsome profit for fattening, even at the 
present high price of stores. 

" But," he adds, " the farmer who is wise, will keep 
both these profits in his own hands. He will rear his own 
stores, and grind up his own grain for feeding them. If 
he wants pigs to pay, he does not starve them for twelve 
to eighteen months, leaving them to roam' about the fields, 
consuming as much food among twenty as would feed 
thirty, rooting and turning over a fold-yard dung heap ; 
but he finds, with the corn, that it will cost him in money 
half its feeding value, and gets the manure into the 
bargain. 

" A well managed pig-feeding establishment, near any 
great town, ought to pay in times of low-priced grain. 
Unlike beef and mutton, every inch of a pig is in demand, 
and the oflals are sold at good j)rices as dainty bits." 



190 HAKKIS ON THE PIG. 

"We might quote much other evidence of a like charac- 
ter, but the above is sufficient to show that the English 
farmers can send to the United States for Indian corn, pay 
freight, commission, and expenses, and then use it at a 
profit in fattening pigs, which are sold at prices no higher 
than the same quality of pork brings in New York, Bos- 
ton, or Philadelphia. Cannot we do the same thing here ? 
Let those who undertake it, however, remember that the 
demand is for choice, fine-boned, well-fatted pigs, of the 
best quality. Such pigs would bring from three to five 
cents per pound more than common hogs, and this, in 
itself, is a large profit. 



CHAPTER XX. 

LIVE AND DEAD WEIGHT OF PIGS. 

The three grade Essex pigs (Nos. 3, 4, and 5) in Dr. 
Miles' experiments at the Michigan Agricultural College, 
previously alluded to (see page 118), were killed when 31 
weeks old. Their live and dressed weights were as follows: 

Live. Dressed. Dressed to Live Weight. 

Per cent. 

No. 3 1351^ 1121^ 83 

4 15C 1321^ 85 nearly. 

5 14514 122 83?£ 

The live weight was taken before feeding. For such 
small pigs, this shows a very high proportion of dressed 
to live weight. 

An Essex pig, about fifteen months old, belonging to 
the writer, weighed, after sticking, 445 lbs., and dressed, 
as weighed the next day by the butcher, 409 lbs. — a 
shrinkage of only a little over 8 per cent. Allowing 10 
lbs. for the blood, the pig would have weighed, alive, 455 
lbs., and dressed nearly 90 per cent. 



LIVE AND DEAD WEIGHT OF PIGS. 191 

"We have no doubt that a highly refined pig of any of 
the small breeds, well fed during its whole growth, and 
thoroughly fattened, will shrink less than 10 per cent on 
its fasted hve weight. 

Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert accurately ascertained the 
live and dead weight of the fifty-nine pigs on which their 
experiments, previously alluded to, were made. The ac- 
tual, average live weight, after fasting, of the whole fifty- 
nine pigs, was 212' |^ lbs., and the average dressed weight, 
176 lbs., 5.3 oz., or a little over 82' \^ per cent. 

The following table shows the actual average weight of 
the different parts of these fifty-nine pigs, and in the 
right-hand column we give the jjer centage weights : 

TABLE SHOWING THE WEIGHT OF DIFFERENT PARTS OP A PIG 
WEIGHING, ALIVE, 212*i lbs. (AVERAGE OF 59 PIGS.) 

Actual weight. Per cent. 

stomach and contents 3 lbs., 10.4 oz. 1.28 

Caul fat 1 " 2..3 " .54 

Small intestines and contents 4 " 8.4" 2.20 

Large " " " 8 " 5.7" 4.04 

Intestinal fat 2 " 5.6" 1.06 

Heart and Aorta " 9.6" 0.29 

Lungs and Windpipe 1 " 9.1 " 0.76 

Blood 7 " 10.1 " 3.6.3 

Liver 3 " 4.5 " 1 .57 

Gall-bladder and contents " 2.1" 0.06 

Pancreas (" sweetbread ") " 6.6" 0.19 

Milt, or Spleen " 4.7 " 0.14 

Bladder " 2.5" 0.08 

Penis " 7.1" 0.21 

Tongue 1 " 0.2" 0.48 

Toes " 2.9" 0.08 

Miscellaneous trimmings " 8.8" 0.26 

Total oflfal parts 35 " 4.6" 16.87 

Carcass 176 " 5.3" 82.57 

JjSSB by evaporation, etc 1 " 2.1 " 0.56 

idve weight after fhsting 212 12 " 100.00 

For the sake of comparison, we may say that the 
average, of 249 sheep, killed at Rothamstead, by Messrs. 
Lawes and Gilbert, was, fasted live weight, 153 lbs., 10.2 
oz. J Carcass, 91 lbs., 12'|j oz. ; Per centage of carcass to 



192 HAKEIS ON THE PIG. 

live weight, 59' |^. The sheep were Cotswolds, Leicesters, 
Hampshire and Sussex Downs. 

The mean fasted live weight of 16 heifers and steers, 
killed and slaughtered at Rothamstead, was 1,141 lbs. ; 
Carcass, 680' |^ lbs. ; Per centage of carcass to live weight, 
59.31. ^ In other words — 

A moderately fat heifer or steer will dress 593^ per cent. 

A moderately fat mutton sheep will dress 59% " " 

A moderately fat pig will dress 8214 " " 

The lightest of Mr. Lawes' half-fattened and fattened 
pigs dressed a little less than 74 per cent, and the heavi- 
est over 87'!^ per cent. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

BREEDING AND REARING PIGS. 

The point of first importance in breeding pigs is the 
selection of the boar. In raising thorough-bred pigs, of 
course we must have a boar of the same breed as the sow. 
This remark may seem superfluous, but we have met with 
ordinarily intelligent men who thought that a boar, de- 
scended from a thorough-bred Cheshire sow, got by a 
thorough-bred Chester White boar, was thorough-bred. 
And we have known a farmer who put a Chester White 
sow to an Essex boar, speak of all the white pigs in the 
litter as Chester Whites, and all the black ones as Essex. 
Thorough-breds must be descended from thorough-breds, 
and both parents must be of the same breed. 

But in raising pigs for the butcher, we are not confined 
to any particular breed. Our selection of the boar must 
be made in reference to whether the pigs are to be fatted 
and sold at a few months old for fresh pork, or whether 



BREEDING AND REARING TIGS. 193 

they are to be kept until they have nearly attained their 
growth before being fattened. Reference must also bo 
liad as to whether we wish large hogs, or smaller and 
finer ones at a less age. Much, too, will depend upon 
the sow we wish to breed from. 

Defective as the majority of our pigs are, there are. 
nevertheless, few sections where we cannot find some 
strong, vigorous sows, of good size, suitable for crossing 
with the improved breeds. This is especially true where 
the Chester County pigs have been introduced. We could 
not ask for better sows to start with than a grade Chester 
County sow. It is an easy matter to find strong, vigor- 
ous sows, of good size, in any neighborhood Avhere the 
Chester Coimty or similar large breeds have been intro- 
duced. 

If a farmer wishes to keep hogs until they are from 
fourteen to eighteen months old, letting them run in the 
barn-yard the first wintei-, and in a clover pasture and 
stubbles the next summer, and to be fattened in the fall, 
he cannot go wrong in selecting a large, vigorous, some- 
what coarse sow, showing more or less Chester County 
blood. Then put her to either an Essex, Berkshire, Suffolk, 
or Small or Medium Yorkshire boar. We think it mat- 
ters compai'atively little which of these breeds is used, 
provided, always, that they are good specimens of the 
breed, and are thorough-bred. Better pay five dollars for 
the use of a thorough-bred than accept the service of a 
grade or common boar for nothing. 

If the sow has had pigs, say the middle of March, they 
may be weaned in six weeks ; and if the sow has been 
properly fed, she will take the boar in a few days after 
the pigs are weaned. We should then get one litter of — 
say grade Essex — about the first of September. The 
sow, during the summer, should, if possible, have the 
run of a clover pasture ; and, if she is not in good, thriving 
condition, with this, and the wash or milk from the house, 
9 



194 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

throw her two or three ears of corn a day. She should 
not be too fat, but there is not one farmer in a thousand 
who ever falls into tliis error. Let her have plenty of 
exercise, and if she is fully half fat by the time she comes 
in, all the better. If she is a good motlier, nearly all her 
accumulated fat will find its way to the little ones in the 
milk before they are six weeks old. 

For two or three weeks before she is expected to far- 
row, let the sow be put in a pen by herself at night, so 
that she may become accustomed to it. She may be al- 
lowed to run out during the day, but should always be 
fed separately in the pen, and in this way she will soon 
come to regard the pen as her own, and will go in as soon 
as the door is open. Let no harsh word be spoken, or a 
kick or a blow, on any provocation, be I'esorted to. 

The pen should have a rail around the side, about 
six inches from the floor, and eight or ten inches from the 
sides of the pen, so that if she makes her bed near the 
sides of the pen, as she almost invariably Avill, the rail 
will afford a space for the little ones to slip under, and 
thus prevent their being crushed against the sides of the 
pen. As, at this season, the weather is warm, she a\ ill 
need but little straw. The better plan is to put two or 
three times as much straw as is needed into the pen a 
week or ten days before she is expected to j^ig. By lying 
on it she will make it soft, and this is very desirable. If 
any of it becomes wet or dirty, remove it from time to 
time when the sow is out. As the time approaches, she 
will select a particular spot, and " make a bed." When 
she is eating, or out of the pen, examine the bed, and see 
that the sides are not too hard, or compacted together too 
closely, and that they are not more than four or five 
inches high ; if so, remove a little of the straw. It is 
better to have too little than too much. After this, the 
sow should be left to herself. With gentle thorough- 
breds, that are accustomed to being petted, we keep a 



BEEEDnfG AND EEAKIKG PIGS. 195 

close watch during siicli an interesting event, rendering 
assistance if necessary; but, as a rule, and especially 
Avith common pigs, it is far better to trust to natui-e, 
and let things take their course. At this season of 
the year, especially if the sow has had the run of a 
pasture, and is in a thrifty condition, there will seldom 
be any trouble. The little pigs will come strong, and 
commence to suck in a minute or two after they are born. 
On no account disturb the sow until all is over. This 
may be two hours, and sometimes longer. Do not be in 
any hurry to feed her. But when she gets up, let her 
have all the milk or slop that she will drink. It is better 
to watch her, and keep pouring it into the trough as long 
as she will drink it up clean. Let her have all she can 
drink, but leave none in the trough. We are aware that 
these directions are not in accordance with the general 
rules on this subject. There are those who think that the 
sow should be kept on short allowance, so that she may 
be Avide-awake, and quick to hear the scream of any of 
the little ones she may be lying on. This is all very well, 
but the chief danger occurs from the sow getting up and 
lying down again ; and if she has a good meal, and eats 
it all up clean, she will be more likely to lie still during 
the night than if she is hungry. After she has eaten, and 
when she goes back to her bed, you will be there to hear 
if she lies on any of the pigs, and can go to the rescue. 
When she has once lain down, there is little danger ixntil 
she gets up again. If all goes well for the first two 
nights, thei-e will rarely be any loss or trouble afterwards. 
Give the sow all the milk or slops she will drink, but little 
or no grain for the first week or ten days. If the little pigs 
scour, change the food of the sow. There is nothing bet- 
ter for lier than skimmed milk, not too sour, and the next 
best thing is two qi;arts of fine middlings, scalded with two 
or three quarts of boiling water, and the pail afterwards 
filled up with water sufiicient to cool it to the temperature 



196 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

of new milk. And here we may say that some men do not 
seem to know how to scald bran or meal properly. We have 
seen them put the meal in the pail and pour on the water, 
and then fill up with cold water at once, and without pre- 
vious stirring. The proper way is to put — say two quarts of 
the bran or meal into the pail, pour on the boiling water, 
and stir it up until every particle is wet or moistened ; 
and the longer it remains before the cold water is added, 
the better. The object is to soften and cook it, and make 
it more easily digestible. When properly prepared, it 
should look like fresh milk. Do not say that the pigs 
■will not pay for all this trouble. It is a great mistake. In 
the first place, it is very little trouble, and in the second, 
the future growth of the pigs depends very much on their 
being well cared for while young. 

When the pigs are two weeks old, a little shallow 
trouGfh should be made for them. Nothing is better for 
this purpose than three or four feet of a tin eaves trough, 
turned up at the ends. Nail it to the floor, so that the 
pigs will not upset it ; and, if possible, put it where the 
sow cannot get at it. Tlien put in half a pint or so of 
sweet milk. Let them drink and waste what they will 
of it, but always clean it out before fresh food is added. 
Try to teach them early to eat their meals promptly, and 
then lie down to sleep. Give them a small handful of oats, 
or, better still, three or four tablespoonfuls of oat-meal, in- 
creasing the quantity daily, but never giving more than 
they will eat up clean. If fed too much at one time, and 
too little at others, it will produce scours, and retard the 
growth of the pigs. At three weeks old, a litter of eight 
or ten pigs will eat a quart of good oats four times a day. 
They seem particularly fond of cracking the oats and eat- 
ing out the kernels. 

After the first week or ten days the sow should have 
richer food — say two quarts of fine middlings, and a quart 
of oat or corn-meal, three times a day. Let her have all 



BREEDING AND EEAKING PIGS. 197 

she will eat, and in a week or ten days later, give richer 
food. Boiled barley is excellent, but it is better to vary 
the food, so as to induce the sow to eat more. We often 
throw our sows an ear or two of corn after they have 
eaten their regular meal. The more food the sow can be 
induced to eat, the richer will be the milk, and the more 
rapidly will the Httle pigs grow. 

When about six weeks old, the pigs should be altered. 
Do not be tempted to reserve one of them for a boar. 
No matter how handsome and well formed he may be, it 
is absolute folly to use him for breeding purposes. Select 
out one or two of the best sows, but alter all the boars. 
The sow pigs will grow and fatten more rapidly if spayed, 
but it is not often, in this country, that we can find men 
who are able to perform the operation with safety. W^here 
there are such, all the sow pigs not intended for breeders 
should be spayed a week or ten days before Aveaning. 
There is nothing better to apply to the wound than pe- 
troleum — not kerosene — but the crude oil. 

The time of weaning will depend on the time when it 
is desired to have the next litter of pigs. If the sow is 
in good condition, she will take the boar in a week or two 
after the pigs are weaned. And if the sow and pigs are 
well fed, the pigs may be allowed to remain with the sow 
until ten weeks or three months old, if there is time 
enough for the next litter, and the sow is strong enough 
to stand the drain on her constitution. If she is not 
strong, wean the pigs when six weeks or two months old. 

It is better not to remove all the pigs at once ; or, if 
this is done, let them return to the sow for a few minutes 
at tlie expiration of twelve hours, and again at the expira- 
tion of twenty-four hours. We prefer, however, to let 
one or two of the weaker pigs remain with the sow for a 
week or so after the others are removed. 

At the time of weaning, the pigs should have extra at- 
tention. Feed them five times a day — the first thing in 



198 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

the morning, and the last at night. If they have all they 
can eat, they will not pine for the mother. Nothing is so 
good for them as milk. A little flax-seed tea, oat-meal 
gruel, or corn-meal gruel, mixed with the milk, or given 
separately, will be good, and acceptable. As the weather, 
by this time, is getting cold, it will be Avell to give warm 
food. But guai'd against giving it too hot. It should not 
be warmer than new milk. 

There is, perhaps, nothing better for the pigs than corn 
pudding and milk. Put two quarts of corn-meal into a 
pail, and pour on two or three quarts of boiling water, 
and stir it until all the meal is wet, then fill up the pail 
with milk. But be very careful that the scalded meal is 
all mixed with the milk. It often happens that there will 
be lumps of meal hot enough to scald, although the milk 
surrounding it is only warm. Such lumps should be 
broken up and mixed with the milk before feeding to the 
little pigs. 

We need hardly add that all pigs should be allowed a 
constant supj^ly of fresh water. There are few things of 
more importance in the management of pigs. 

Let the pen be Avarni, clean, and well ventilated, but 
with no cracks for the wind to blow through on to the 
pigs. And, above all, let the pen and bedding be dry. 
There should always be litter enough for the pigs to bury 
themselves in. "Warmth, to a certain extent, is equiva- 
lent to food, and, what is of more importance than the 
saving of the food, it saves digestion. Let the pigs have 
all the exercise they wish, and then do not be afraid that 
warm, dry, clean, and comfortable quai*ters, with abund- 
ance of wholesome food, will make them tender. We are 
aware that this is a common idea, but it is an erroneous 
one. A cold Avind or storm, that will send a half-starved 
and neglected pig squealing around the barn-yard, with 
hair on end, head down, and back up, will have no effect 
on pigs treated as we have recommended. And there is 



BREEDING AND BEARING PIGS. 199 

nothing more important than to have young pigs in a 
heulthy,vigorous, almost /*a^ condition, before winter sets in. 

The pigs are now three months old, and should weigh 
75 lbs. to 80 lbs. each. We have had grade Essex and 
Berkshires (wbich are not as large as grade Essex and 
Chester Whites) that weighed 88 lbs. when three months 
and four days old. — And it should be remembered that, 
during two months of the time, the pigs get most of 
their food from the sow ; and during the next month, they 
eat far less food than older pigs. 

During the winter, the pigs may be allowed the run of 
the barn-yard, to pick up what they can find. If the cat- 
tle are fed grain or oil-cake, a certain number of pigs will 
keep in good condition on the droppings of the cattle, and 
on food which would otherwise be wasted. Let the young 
pigs, however, have a separate pen from the old ones, and 
see to it that they have enough food to keep them in good 
condition. By throwing them an ear or two of corn in 
the pen, they will soon learn to be ready at the appoint- 
ed time to enter the pen for the night, without trouble. 
On no account let them go to bed hungry. Let their 
stomachs be well filled — say at five o'clock in the evening 
— and they will sleep quietly until eight o'clock the next 
morning. In foct, a well-bred and well-fed pig will sleep 
three-fourths of his time, during the winter. If not dis- 
turbed, and tempted with fattening food, he will eat little 
and gain little. And sometimes, like other hibernating 
animals, he will live on his own fat. 

As spring approaches, the young pigs will need more 
food, and fortimate is that farmer who has a liberal 
supply of parsnips, sugar-beets, or mangel wurzel for 
them. These roots, pulped or rasped in a cider-mill, mixed 
with a little corn-meal, are a cheap and excellent food for 
pigs in the spring. But, whatever the feed, let the pigs 
have all they need to keep them in a good, thriving con- 
dition. 



200 HABEIS OX THE PIG. 

As soon as tlie clover is fairly growing, the pigs should 
have the run of the clover pasture. They "will get three- 
fourths of their food in the pasture, and we need hardly 
say that, Avhere clover grows as abundantly as it does witli 
\:z, it is the cheapest food that can be fed to a pig. "With 
clover, and the slops from the house and dairy, tlie pigs 
Avill keej) in a thriving condition, but it is a waste of time 
and food to depend on this alone, with pigs intended for 
the butcher. If fed from a pint to a quart of corn, or 
corn-meal, a day, they will eat just as much clover, and 
will glow nearly as fast again. After haiwest, they will 
pick up considerable food on the grain stubbles ; but if 
as fat as they should be by this time, stubble gleaning 
can be more profitably left to the breeding stock and 
spring pigs. 

By the first of November, such pigs as we have de- 
scribed, fed as here recommended, should be in prime 
order for the butcher, and can be sold at any time Avhen 
the price is satisfactory. 

They should average 400 lbs., dressed weight. The 
pork is of the highest quality, and the lard keeps fii"m 
and hard during the hottest weather in summer, and 
makes excellent pastry. 

BEARING AND MANAGEMENT OF SPKING PIGS. 

Spring pigs, intended to be fattened and sold when 
about nine months old, should come early in the spiing, 
and should have the best of care and feed. A warm, dry 
pen, is absolutely essential. Thousands of pigs are lost 
every spring for want of a little forethought in making 
the pen ready for the sow to litter in. In a properly con- 
structed pen there is little to be done, except to clean it 
out a week or ten days before the time the sow is expect- 
ed to pig, and provide a liberal allowance of dry straw. 
It is not well to have too much straw in the pen at the 



BREEDING AND EEAPaXG PIGS. 201 

time of piggitig ; l)vit, as already explained, straw which 
has been in the pen for a week or so is softer and better 
than fresh straw. We would place straw in the sleeping 
apartment to the depth of afoot, and then remove the wet 
or soiled portions daily until, by the time the sow pigged, 
there woiild not be more than is needed to keep the 
mother and little ones warm. Two or three inches of 
soft straw on the bottom of the pen, under the sow, will 
be trod firm, and act as a non-conductor of heat, and will 
not increase the danger of the sow lying on the pigs. The 
danger arises from having too much loose straw in the 
pen, and from having the sides of the bed too high and 
firm. 

It often happens that the pen in which tlie sow is placed 
is ill-adapted for the purpose. In this case, some tem- 
porary expedient for keeping out the cold winds must be 
resorted to. If nothing better can be done, every hole 
and crevice can at least be stopped with straw. The 
principal danger is during the first few hours after the 
pigs are born. If they can be kept warm and safe for 
two or three days, there is little danger of losing them. 
But for health and thrift, it is very desirable that they 
never be exposed to cold storms; and what is of even 
still greater importance, the pen must always be dry. 

We would again endeavor to impress on our readers 
the importance of attending to these matters in advance. 
Few things are more vexatious than to lose a nice litter 
of pigs for want of half an hour's time in making the 
pen dry, warm, and comfortable. If we lose a calf, we 
have still the milk of the cow, but if we lose a litter of 
pigs, there is no compensation. It is a dead loss of what 
the pigs would have been worth when a month old. 

We have said that for fall pigs, to be kept fourteen or 

fifteen months before killing, there are no better pigs 

than those obtained from a Chester White sow, put to a 

thorough-bred Essex, Berkshire, or Small Yorkshire (Suf- 

9* 



202 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

folk) Loar. But for spring pigs we need a little more re- 
finement. Tliey should be three-quarters Essex, Berkshire, 
or some other fine breed — that is to say, a sow from the 
first cross of Essex and Chester White should be put to 
an Essex or Berkshire boar. This would give a highly 
refined, small-boned pig, that would mature early, and 
fatten rapidly. During tlie summer, hoAvever, they will 
require better food than the older and stronger pigs. 
They should have the run of a clover pasture, but 
should be favored in the distribution of the milk, and 
should have, in addition, sufficient grain of some kind to 
keep them fat enough for fresh pork at all times. 

It often happens that the most profitable way of dis- 
posing of such spring pigs as here described, is to sell 
them when three, four, five, or six months old for fresh 
pork. We have sometimes thought that butchers do not 
make sufficient difference in the price of such pigs as 
compared with common pigs. In fact, butchers have 
said to us : " All that you say is true. These pigs make 
splendid pork, but our customers will pay no more for it 
than for common i:)ork, witli half as much again bone in 
it." The truth of the matter seems to be this : There is 
not enough of such pork sent to market to establish the 
grade. Few people know that there is as much difference 
between the pork from a four-months-old, well-bred, and 
well-fed pig, as compared with an eight-months-old, ill- 
bred, and ill-fed pig, as there is between a sirloin and a 
round steak. In Boston, a sirloin steak is now (March, 
1870) quoted at 36 cents and 38 cents per pound, and a 
round steak at 20 cents and 25 cents ; chuck rib at 12 
cents and 15 cents, and soup pieces at 5 cents and 8 cents 
per pound. Here is certainly difference enough to stimu- 
late us to improve the form of our animals. Let farmers 
furnish good fresh pork, and there will be found those who 
are willing to pay a liberal price for it. At any rate, if the 
pigs are kept in high condition, they will be ready at all 



MANAGEMENT OF THOROUGH-BRED PIGS. 203 

times for the butcher ; and if the price is suitable, they 
can be disposed of, and if not, they can be kept until nine 
or ten months old, and sold for fat pork. Spring pigs 
should never be kept on short allowance. It is almost 
impossible to keep them too fat. To keep them in a half- 
starved condition until the corn crop is ripe, and then shut 
them up to fatten, is a very expensive way of making 
pork. We have known a lot of spring pigs kept in this 
way, by a farmer who seemed to fear that, if he fed a lit- 
tle corn during the summer, his pigs would not " grow," 
that were shut up to fatten in October, and fed soft corn 
at first, and afterwards sound corn in the ear, all they 
would eat, that did not, when killed in December, average 
100 lbs, each, dressed weight. A well-bred pig of the 
same age, well-fed from the day he was born, (and before,) 
would have dressed 300 lbs. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

MANAGEMENT OF THOROUGH-BRED PIGS. 

The first object in the management of thorough-bred 
pigs is to secure perfect health. If any animal manifests 
the slightest tendency to disease of any kind, it must be 
rigorously i-ejected. Moreover, if in a litter of pigs there 
are any defective animals, we would fatten the sow and 
dispose of her. It is not safe to breed from her. And if 
the same defect manifests itself in the litters of other 
sows, bred to the same boar, it is pretty conclusive evi- 
dence that the boar is not perfectly sound, and he should 
be at once rejected. No matter how apparently healthy 
the parents may be, if there is any tendency to disease, or 
defects in form in the offspring, the probabilities are, that 



204 HAEEIS ON THE PIG. 

there is some latent disease in the parents; and even 
though we breed from none of their offspring but those 
apparently sound, yet we are never sure that the disease 
will not manifest itself in the next generation. 

Next to health, the digestive and assimilating power 
of a thorough-bred pig is of the greatest importance. 
AYithout good digestion, rapid growth is impossible. The 
pig must have a stomach capable of extracting the nutri- 
ment from a large amount of food, and the process of as- 
similation must jjroceed with equal rapidity. These 
qualities are, in a good degree, under our control. In a 
thoroughly established breed, " like begets like," not only 
in form and color, but also in those qualities which deter- 
mine rapid growth, early maturity, and a disposition to 
fatten easily. Check the growth of a young boar and 
bow by keeping them in cold, wet pens, on short allow- 
ance, and, though they themselves may afterwards appar- 
ently recover from such treatment, the evil effects will be 
seen in their offspring. They may be perfect in form, 
but they will not possess the maximum capacity of growth 
and fattening qualities. In the management of thorough- 
bred pigs, this idea must never be absent from the breed- 
er's mind. So far as is consistent with health, the young 
pigs must be daily kept in such a way as to secure a rapid 
gi-owth. All thoughts of " hardening" them by exposure 
to cold storms must be abandoned. All attempts at starv- 
ing them, in hopes of making them more healthy and 
vigorous, must be given uj) — first, because it will not ac- 
complish the object, and secondly, because if it would, we 
should lose one of the first objects we have in getting 
an improved breed of pigs — the capacity of converting a 
large amount of food into flesh and fat. 

It has been supposed that the success of a breeder de- 
pends almost entirely on his judgment in selecting a male 
adapted to correct any deficiencies in the form or quali- 
ties of the females. But while this is sometimes very im- 



MANAGEMENT OF THOKOUGH-BRED PIGS. 205 

portant, yet the real skill of the breeder of tliorough-bred 
pigs consists, in great part, in liis ability to keep his 
young pigs growing to their utmost capacity, and, at the 
same time, keep them in perfect health, and in good con- 
dition for breeding at the proper age. Let no farmer ex- 
pect to succeed as a breeder of thorough-bred pigs if he 
leaves them to the care of an ordinary hired man. He 
must give them his own personal attention. If he objects 
to this, if he has no liking for a refined, well-bred, well- 
behaved, well-formed pig, let him turn his attention to 
some other business. It is, of course, not necessary that 
the owner should clean out the sties, or cook the food, or 
wash the pigs, and feed them. But he will find it of 
great advantage to know how to perform all these opera- 
tions. Ordinary farm men have been so accustomed to 
let pigs wallow in the mire, and take care of themselves, 
that it is very difficult to get them to realize the import- 
ance of cleanliness, regularity in feeding, general kind- 
ness, and constant attention. It is not an easy matter to 
induce a common farm man to groom a horse thoroughly, 
and it is still more difficult to get such a man to clean a 
pig. And yet a breeder of thoi'ough-bred pigs will find 
few things more important for health and for rapid 
growtli, and for the development of the best points, than 
washing in summer, and cleaning them with a brush in 
winter. 

An extensive range is almost as important for thorough- 
bred pigs as it is for poultry, and we think it a mistake 
for a breeder to keep more than one breed on the same 
farm. It is not only convenient and economical to let the 
pigs run out in a pasture during the spring, summer, and 
autumn, and in the barn-yard during the winter, but it 
is desirable for their health and vigor. It is not always 
easy to accomplish this object, even when one breed only 
is kept, and it must be still more difficult when two or 
three breeds are kept. 



306 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

To keep up and improve the quality of the stock, it is 
absolutely essential to " weed out " all that show any ten- 
dency to deterioration ; and on this account it is desirable 
to have a good-sized herd to select the breeding stock 
from. We must have at least two boars of each breed ; 
and where two or three different breeds are kept, this is 
no slight expense. We would, therefore, earnestly recom- 
mend breeders to confine themselves to one breed. 

THE B0A.R. 

A young boar must never be stinted in food. Until he 
is a year old, he should be kept growing as rapidly as 
possible, consistent with health and vigor. But at the 
same time, he must not be allowed to get too fat. We 
would let him have all the food he will eat. If he gets 
too fat, reduce the quality^ but not the quantity, of the 
food. It is here that judgment and experience are par- 
ticularly important. A person who has kept none but 
common pigs is very apt to think that his thorough-bred 
boar is getting too fat. The roundness and symmetry of 
the body, with the comparatively small growth of bone 
and offal parts, leads him to suppose that the pig is not 
growing fast enough. This is particulai'ly the case with 
the small breeds. He thinks they are fattening inside, 
but are not growing ; and, in order to make him grow, or, 
at all events, to prevent him from getting too fat, he turns 
him to a straw stack, or shuts him up in a pen, and feeds 
him nothing but dish-water and a few potato parings. 
Nothing can be more unwise. If the pig is getting too 
fat, which, in the case assumed, is not probable, the bet- 
ter plan is to turn him into a clover lot, or into a stubble 
field. What he needs is exercise and abundance of plain 
food. If it is winter, let him have less concentrated food, 
but give him all of it that he will eat up clean, twice a 
day. A few boiled potatoes and coarse bran, or bran 



MANAGEMENT OF THOROUGH-BKED PIGS. 207 

alone, fed moist, makes a good winter diet in such a case. 
But so far as our observation extends, where one pig is 
injured from over-feeding, ten are stunted in growth from 
want of a regular and abundant supply of appropriate 
food. 

At eight or nine months old, a boar of the small breeds, 
if kept in the way we have recommended, will have nearly 
completed his growth, and may be allowed to serve a few 
sows. But be careful not to let him have so many as to 
reduce himself materially in flesh, or check his growth. 
One service is sufficient for a soav, and to allow more is a 
mere waste of the strength and energies of the boar, and 
is probably injurious to the sow. To let a young thorough- 
bred boar serve a number of common sows, at a dollar a 
head, is mere folly. The English breeders usually charge 
a sovereign. 

When the boar has attained his growth, he will not re- 
quire as rich food. He should, however, have enough to 
keep him in perfect health and vigor. He should always^ 
have enough to fill his stomach. Bran and roots, or 
green clover, will ordinarily keep him in good condition. 
But when he is in active service, he must have richer food. 
In regard to the number of soavs a full grown boar should 
be allowed to serve, it must be remembered that the 
proper season for having the sows come in is comparatively 
limited. From the middle of October until the first of 
December the boar is most in demand, and at this time, 
if full grown, may be allowed to serve twenty or twenty- 
five sows, and the same number during the spring season. 

If the boar is a very valuable one, and it is intended to 
keep him for several years, he should be restricted to 
fewer sows — say eight or ten in a season. On the other 
hand, a boar that we intend to alter and fatten as soon as 
the season is over, may be allowed to serve all the com- 
mon or grade sows that his strength will permit — say 
seventy-five or eighty during three months. 



208 HAEKIS OX THE PIG. 

Usually, it is more profitable to alter and fatten a boar 
when three years old than to keep him longer. But, of 
coui'se, much depends on his value and on our ability to 
replace him. Fisher Hobbs' celebrated Essex boar, 
" Emperor," of which we have given a portrait on 
page 79, was eight years old when his jjicture was taken. 
'An animal of extraordinary merit may be kept as long as 
he gets good pigs. 

The boar's pen should have a yard attached not less 
than ten or twelve feet square, and it is better, always, to 
turn the sows to him, than to turn him out to the sows. 
If he is sluggish, it is well to have a strong door between 
this yard and the boar's sleeping pen, so arranged that he 
can see the sow Avithout being able to get at her until the 
door is open. Shut the door between the pen and the 
yard, and then turn the sow into the yard, and let her re- 
main a short time before letting the boar out. The best 
boar we ever had Avas exceedingly shy in this matter. 
He apparently objected to have strangers looking on. 
We kept him for some years, and by humoring his pecu- 
liarities, he proved a very useful animal. He always 
showed most energy early in the morning, l)efore he had 
had his breakfast. Some of our neighbors, who had been 
accustomed to drive their sows to common boars, that 
W'Ould tear down a pen, or push over a fence to get at a 
sow, were disgusted Avith the dignified moA'ements of tliis 
thorough-bred boar. After waiting and watching a few 
minutes, they would drive away their soaa^s to some long- 
nosed, slab-sided brute, while those Avho exercised a little 
more patience, were almost invariably rcAvarded with 
splendid litters of pigs. The truth of tliis matter is, 
that good breeders increase the development of the choice 
parts of a pig at the expense of the offal ; and the ham 
of a Avell-bred and well-foi-med boar has been enlai-ged at 
the expense of some portion of the contigiious parts. We 
have known this carried to such an extreme, tiiat casual 



MANAGEMENT OP THOEOUGH-BRED PIGS. 209 

observers would suppose they were looking at a barrow- 
pig. Any one who will contrast a coarse Chester County 
boar with a refined Essex will understand our meaning. 

THE sow. 

The treatment of a sow until she is eight or nine 
months old does not diifer from that of the boar. She 
should be well fed, and ha^e plenty of exercise. If she 
is born in March, and is kept growing rapidly, and is of 
an early maturing breed, she may be allowed to take the 
boar in November, when about eight months old. Slie 
would then have jiigs in March, when a year old. This 
is breeding earlier than is iisually recommended, but it 
must be remembered that we are treating of pigs that 
liave been bred almost exclusively for the purpose of rapid 
growth while young, and for early maturity. If she is 
strong and healthy, with good digestive powers, it will 
not hurt her to have a litter of pigs at a year old, and to 
have two litters a year afterwards, for two or three years. 
The breeder, however, must exercise judgment in this 
matter. It often improves a sow wonderfully to let her 
get a year or fifteen months old before she takes the boar. 
And in the case of late fall pigs, Ave should always be in- 
clined to keep them until the following November before 
they are served. 

The sow, when in pig, should be allowed abundance 
of food, and as extensive a range as possible until a week 
or ten days before farrowing. She sliould then be placed 
in her pen, and fed with food similar to that which it is in- 
tended to give her after she has farrowed. Nothing can 
be better than skimmed milk and scalded bran, with a 
little oil-meal, to loosen the bowels, if necessary. Di- 
rections for furnishing the pen with litter, etc., have 
been already given, and need not be repeated here. As, 
however, a litter of thorough-bred pigs are of considera- 



210 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

ble value, we would particularly urge that everything be 
provided in advance that can insure their safety. We have 
lost a litter of ten pigs that, at ten weeks okl, would 
have brought us two hundred dollars, simply from neg- 
lecting to have the pen properly protected beforehand 
against a severe storm which occurred the night the sow* 
farrowed. Much is said about sows eating their young, 
but where one pig is lost in. this way, a hundred die from 
damp pens and neglect. 

When the soav is shut up by herself in the pen, if she 
is uneasy, it is well to let her out for an hour or so during 
the forenoon, letting her in again for her noon meal, and 
in the course of an hour or so, let her out again, putting 
her back at feeding time for the night. In this way she 
will soon become accustomed to the pen. It not un fre- 
quently happens that the sow, at this period, is constipa- 
ted ; and if this is the case, she should be fed on more suc- 
culent, and less concentrated, food. We know of nothing 
better than bran mashes, either alone, or mixed up with 
linseed tea. If this does not relieve the trouble, give an 
injection of warm water, Avith a little soap in it. In ob- 
stinate cases, put an ounce of Epsom, or two ounces of 
Glauber's salt in the injection. This is generally better 
than giving her medicine, even if she would eat it in her 
food, which she will seldom do. It is not safe to attempt 
to drench a sow^ at this period, A careful attention to the 
diet, with sufficient exercise, will almost always prevent 
this trouble. 

Our own sows are so quiet that we can do anything 
witli them. And before they ^rrow, we are in the habit 
of handling them, rubbing their teats, and getting them 
thoroughly accustomed to our presence in the pen. If all 
goes right, it is best to let the sow alone ; and, in all 
cases, it is better to err in giving too little attention or 
assistance than too much. If the weather is very cold, 
throw a blanket over the sow ; and as soon as a little pig 



MANAGEMENT OF THOEOUGH-BRED PIGS. 211 

arrives, rub him dry with a little soft straw, and put him 
to the teats, under the blanket. Be careful, hoAvever, not 
to break the cord too close to the navel, or it may cause 
blood to flow, and thus weaken the pig. If the soav has 
been well and jjroperly fed, and is in vigorous condition, 
the pigs will be strong, and will take hold of the teats in 
a few minutes. When this is the case, little danger of 
loss is to be apprehended. If any of the pigs are weak, 
it often requires considerable care and attention to save 
them. The great point is to prevent them from becoming 
chilled and to get them to suck. It is here that the pre- 
vious petting of the sow and handling of her teats prove 
useful. You can hold the pig to the teat, and press out 
some milk with the thumb and finger. It is said that 
the teats, towards the forelegs, afford the richest milk, 
and that, as each pig is believed to always keep the 
teat he first takes possession of, it is well to put the 
weaker pigs to the forward teats. We cannot speak 
from experience as to the advantage of this method. In 
the case of thorough-bred pigs, it will pay to have a man 
watch the sow the first night, to see that she does not lie 
on any of the little ones. If the pigs are strong, there 
will be comparatively little danger after the first night ; 
but we have known a sow to lie on a weak pig and crush 
it to death when eight or ten days old, and when all 
danger was supposed to be passed. We once had a sow 
lie on a sick pig, that was large enough to wean, and hurt 
it so much that it died in a few hours. If the pigs are 
strong, it is an easy matter to raise them ; but if not, 
great care will be required. It is, tlierefore, in all respects, 
very desirable to have the pigs come strong and healthy, 
and this i? usually the case when the sow and boar are 
healthy, and are descended from a healthy stock, and 
when the sow herself is, and always has been, well and 
properly fed, and has had plenty of fresh air and exer- 
cise, with access to charcoal, ashes, and pure water. 



212 HAKRIS ON THE PIG. 

When a litter of pigs gets chilled, there is nothing bet- 
ter to revive them than hot chaff from the steam vat, re- 
newed hy degrees as often as it gets cool. We have 
saved pigs in this way that were almost lifeless. Place 
the chaif along the side of the sow, next to the teats, and 
put the little pigs on it, and nearly cover them with the 
chaff, and tlien throw a blanket over the sow and the 
pigs and hot chaff. Of course it will be necessary to re- 
main with the sow and watch the pigs ; and we have 
sometimes gi^^en them, with advantage, a little warm new 
milk, or fresh cream, Avith a teaspoonful of gin or whiskey 
to three or four tablespoonfuls of the milk or cream. 
When they revive a little, place them to the teats, and 
encourage them to suck a little. 

In very cold weatlier, it is often desirable to hang some 
blankets from the top of the pen around the sow, like the 
curtains on a tent-bedstead ; and by placing several bags 
of hot chaff inside the curtains, the temjDcrature may be 
raised several degrees. If more convenient, pails of hot 
water may be used instead of the hot chaff. 

We onc,e had a litter of valuable pigs come one night 
during a severe cold storm. The kitchen fire was out, 
and no hot water to be had, but in the steam-house was a 
barrel of boiled barley. By taking a little from the top 
it was found to be hot underneath, and we carried six or 
eight pailfuls of liot barley into the pen, and in this way 
managed to keep the pigs warm, and save the whole litter. 

When the pigs are two weeks old, they will begin to 
lap a little milk, and a week later, will eat a few oats. 
The directions already given in a previous chapter are ap- 
plicable here. When the pigs are a month old, we let 
the sow out from the pigs in the morning, after breakfast, 
and again after dinner, feeding the pigs while the sow is 
away. At first, the sow is kept out only an hour or so at a 
time, and as the pigs get older, she may be kept out longer. 
In this way the little pigs will eat more food, and will not 



MANAGEMENT OF THOROUGH-BRED PIGS. 213 

draw so mucli on the strength of the sow. In the case 
of thorough-bred pigs, Avheie it is desirable to have the 
sows breed as long as they produce strong litters of 
ten or a dozen, this is quite an important point. Great 
care must be taken not to tax the strength of the sow 
too much. Little pigs, of a good breed, grow so rapidly, 
that they require much more food than ordinary pigs, 
while the sow has been so refined by breeding, that she 
is seldom strong enough to stand the drain, when the pigs 
depend entirely on her for food. 

The pigs will do better to remain with the sow until 
they are two months old ; and if they are well fed, and 
are gradually weaned in the Avay above recommended, the 
sow will suiFer no harm. 

According to the experiments of Doctor Miles, previous- 
ly alluded to, Essex pigs, about three weeks old, ate 3' \^ 
lbs. of new milk, each, per day. The next week they ate 
nearly 7 lbs. of milk, each, per day. From this, it ap- 
pears that a litter of ten pigs, a month or five weeks old, 
will eat over 30 quarts of new milk a day, or more than is 
ordinarily giA'en by the best cows. We present these facts 
here to show what an immense drain a suckling sow is 
called upon to sustain. We have often observed how 
rapidly such a sow loses flesh after the third week. 
No matter how fat she may have been, and how much of 
the richest food she is allowed, she will soon get very thin 
unless the pigs are induced to eat other food than that 
which the mother supplies. 

The milk of the sow is richer than that of any other 
domestic animal. Milk is derived from the blood, and this 
is derived either directly from the food, or from the flesh 
and fat stored up in the animal. It is, therefore, easy to 
understand that, when a sow is called upon to give as 
much milk as one of the largest and best cows, it must 
tax her digestive powers to the utmost, or rapidly convert 
her flesh into blood and milk. 



214 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

We are particularly anxious to call attention to tliis 
matter, as we deem it one of the most important points 
in the management of thorough-bred pigs. A litter of 
ten pigs, at bii-th, weighs about 15 lbs., and at six weeks 
old, sometimes as much as 250 lbs., or nearly or quite as 
much as the mother herself weighs, in many cases. It is 
evident that this enormous growth must require a large 
amount of food from somewhere. From, whence is it ob- 
tained ? In thorough-bred pigs, we must bave as rapid 
growth as possible while young, or the breed deteriorates. 
The offspring of pigs whose growth is checked while 
young from want of food, will, in some degree, lose the 
capacity of growth, even though abundance of food is 
furnished. The sins of the owners of the parents are 
visited on the owners of the children. The pigs have 
been bred for the very purpose of growing rapidly, and 
they cannot grow without food. To expect a thorough- 
bred sow (refined down to the last degree,) to raise a lit- 
ter of pigs (inheriting a tendency to rapid growth), with 
no more food than a common sow with a litter of common 
pigs, is unreasonable. The thorough-bred sow and pigs 
require, and must have, better food, and more attention 
than the common pigs. 

A first-class thorough-bred sow, that produces eight 
or ten pigs at the first litter, and proves a good mother 
and nurse, is a very valuable animal, and it will pay well 
to take care of her. For the first two weeks after far- 
row'ing, little change Avill apparently take place in her 
condition. The scales would doubtless show that she has 
lost weight, but it is from the inside fat, which finds its 
way into the milk for the nourishment of the young. 
All animals lay up fat for this purpose, and it is not nec- 
essary to furnish a large quantity of rich food for the 
sow for the first week after farrowing. Slie should have 
all the cooling drinks she requires, and food that is easily 
digested, such as milk and bran mashes, and later, oat- 



MANAGEMENT OF THOROUGH-BRED PIGS. 215 

meal oi* barley-meal. After the second week, give richer 
food, but be careful that it is not rich enough to derange 
the stomach of the sow, and produce diarrhoea in the 
little pigs. Boiled barley, given in connection with the 
milk and bran, is excellent. Let it be thoroughly boiled. 
Soak it in water for twelve hours, and afterwards boil it 
in the same water until it bursts open. Three weeks after 
farrowing is the critical time for the sow. The pigs be- 
gin to require m.uch more milk, and are constantly pulling 
at her. She will begin to fall off in flesh, and this is not, 
in itself, objectionable, provided it is not carried too far. 
It is here that the breeder must exercise his best judg- 
ment. The sow must have a liberal and regular supply 
of nutritious food. But be very careful not to give her 
a comparatively innutritions food one day, and a full sup- 
ply of rich food the next. The true plan, as we have be- 
fore said, but it cannot be too often repeated, is to feed 
the little pigs, and thus lessen their demands on the 
mother. Give them a little new milk from the cow, and 
take pains to teach them to drink it. If you teach one 
to drink, the others will be likely to follow his example. 
A little sugar or molasses in the milk will prove accepta- 
ble to the pigs. In a few days, mix a little scalded or 
boiled oat-meal with the milk, and gradually increase the 
quantity as their appetites increase. A Httle boiled barley 
may also be given, and throw them a handful of whole 
oats on the floor of their pen, for them to crack and exer- 
cise their teeth on. In this way you can save the strength 
of the sow, and we deem this one of the most important 
points in breeding, especially with the first litter. 

In the natural state, sows do not have more than half 
as many pigs at a. litter as the improved breeds, and they 
do not grow half as fast, and consequently do not require 
more than half as much milk. Those who talk so much 
about following " Nature," seem to forget these facts. 
Our object is to improve on nature, and to do this we 



216 HARRIS OX THE PIG. 

have to provide improved conditions. A thorough-bred 
pig is a work of art, and its production calls for intelli- 
gence, thought, care, patience, and perseverance. 

"VVe once had two valuable thorough-bred sows that 
farrowed their first litters in February. They had ten 
pigs each. Through carelessness, one whole litter was 
frozen to death. We took a couple of the pigs from the 
other litter, and gave them to the sow that had lost 
her litter, and these also died. The other sow raised 
the eight pigs, and they did well. The sow was left in 
charge of an ordinary man, and by the time the pigs were 
five weeks old, she was as thin as a rail. The pigs were 
not weaned until nine weeks old. She nourished them 
at the expense of her own flesh, and, as it turned out, at 
the expense of her strength also. She did not recover 
from the eifects of the drain on her constitution for six 
months, and did not take the boar again until the follow- 
ing October. In the meantime, the sow which lost all her 
pigs took the boar in two weeks, and had a litter of ten 
pigs in July, worth, at two months old, $20 each. "We 
mention this fact to show that it will pay to take particu- 
lar care of young sows, and to guard against overtaxing 
their strength and constitution. We must do this, not 
only by giving the sow the best of care and proper food, 
but also by feeding the little pigs, and doing all that we 
can to prevent the sow from giving them too much milk 
after they are three or four weeks old. 

A sow will often take the boar in three or four days 
after farrowing. In the case of large, coarse, common 
sows, this is sometimes desirable, but rarely in the case 
of thorough-breds. It is better to wait until the pigs are 
W'caned. If the little pigs have been fed as above recom- 
mended, so that they have not taxed too much the 
streno;th of the sow, she will often take the boar in a few 
days, or, at farthest, in two or three weeks. She should 
have plenty of nutritious food and moderate exercise for 



MANAGEMKNT OF THOROUGH-BRED PIGS. 217 

the first month after the pigs are weaned. After this, she 
should have all the food she can eat, but should, if possi- 
ble, be compelled to take some exercise in order to get it. 

MANAGEMENT OF THE TOUNG PIGS. 

The pigs, as before said, should be gradually weaned. 
They do better to remain with the sow until eight or ten 
weeks old, but we would commence weaning them when 
three weeks old. Let out the sow from them — at first, 
for an hour or so at a time, gradually extending the time 
as they get older. When a month old, they may be al- 
lowed to go out with the sow for an hour or two in mild 
weather, but not while the sun is very hot, as, in some 
breeds, our hot sun Avill blister the backs of young pigs. 
When five weeks old, they may go out into the pasture 
while the sow is kept in the pen. The little pigs need 
more exercise at this time than the mother. The secretion 
of milk, in her case, is equivalent to a considerable amount 
of exercise, and she should not be obliged to take exer- 
cise in order to get food. 

The most common complaints of little pigs are diarrhoea 
and colds. The former is caused by giving the sow im- 
proper food, or a too sudden change of diet, or by irregular 
feeding, or from want of pure water and fresh air. We once 
had a few cooked beans that had been left in the steam-bar- 
rel until they decomposed. They were thrown on to the 
manure heap, and a sow, which was suckling pigs, ate 
some of them. Two days afterwards, the whole litter 
was seized with violent diarrhoea, and one of them died in 
the course of two or three days. It was the worst case 
of the kind we ever had, and the diarrhoea continued for 
four or five days, and was not stopped until we gave the 
pigs two or three drops of laudanum each, at night, in 
some fresh cream, with a teaspoon, and repeated the dose 
the next morning. This effected a cure, but the pigs did 
10 



218 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

not regain their thrifty growth for a week or ten days. 
We should add that the sow continued perfectly well, 
and manifested no symptoms of the complaint. As a 
general rule, no medicine will be required. Change the 
food of the mother, and let her go out into the air, but 
let the little pigs remain in the pen, and see that they are 
warm and comfortable. The less they are disturbed, and 
the more they sleep, the sooner will they recover. It is 
also very important to keep the pen clean and well venti- 
lated. Nothing can be worse than to leave the evacua- 
tions in the pen. Scatter some dry earth about the pen 
to absorb the offensive gases. Let the feeding apartment 
also be dusted over Avith dry earth or soil of any kind 
that can be obtained, and then scraped, and swept, and 
washed, and a little dry straw, or chaff, or sawdust, be 
spread on it, to prevent dampness. Scald the pig troughs 
with 'boiling Avater, and make them sAveet and clean. Let 
this be done every day. The attendant should understand 
that the scours are an evidence of negligence or carelessness. 
The same may be said of coughs or colds. Damp pens, 
exposure to a cold storm, too much litter at one time, and 
too little at another, or suffering it to remain until it gets 
damp, are the chief causes of colds, with all their attend- 
ant disorders. An ounce of Epsom salt, given to the 
SOAV in her food, twice a day, Avill be beneficial to the lit- 
tle pigs. But it is not often that pigs are affected Avith 
colds until after they are Aveaned, and in this case a few 
salts, either Epsom, Glauber's, or Rochelle, as most con- 
venient, may be given in the food — say a teasj^oonful of 
Epsom or Rochelle salts, to a three-months-old pig, or a 
tablespoonful of Glauber's salt, given in the food twice a 
day, with a little gentian or ginger, or some other tonic. 
Fresh air is very important, and in mild weather they 
should be alloAved to run in the pasture, but should be 
permitted to return to their pen whenever they wish. 
Let the pen be made as dry and comfortable as possible ; 



MANAGEMENT OF THOEOUGH-BRED PIGS. 219 

give succulent food, and guard against constipation, and 
in a few days the pigs will be better. In our own experi- 
ence, we have never happened to have any serious trouble 
from this cause, but we once sent a pair of valuable pigs 
to a gentleman in Illinois, and the boar, nine or ten weeks 
old, and a very strong and apparently healthy one, caught 
cold on the route, and though he received good care, died 
in a week or so afterwards. 

The great point in the management of young pigs is, 
to keep them growing rapidly. If strong and vigorous, 
they are seldom liable to any disease, and if attacked, 
soon throw it off. We think it advantageous to pet them 
and make them as tame as possible. They are fond of 
being rubbed with a brush, and have not the slightest 
objection to a good Irish scratching, especially in the 
holes and corners about the head, where they cannot 
scratch themselves without unusual exertion. We are in 
the habit of taking hold of our young pigs back of the 
ears, and when they get used to it, they regard it as indi- 
cating a desire for a frolic. If well fed, well petted, and 
in high health, they enjoy a frolic as much as a pair of 
young dogs. At three months old, the boar pigs should 
be separated from the sows. 



220 HASBIS ON THB PIG. 

CHAPTER XXni. 

THE PROFIT OF RAISING THOROUGH-BRED PIGS. 

A farmer who reads the preceding chapter will be very- 
apt to ask — " Will it pay to be at all this trouble to raise 
pigs ? Will it not be better to keep a kind that does not 
require so much attention ?" 

In the first place, it should be remarked that, we do not 
advocate keeping thorough-bred pigs to be fatted and sold 
to the butcher. They are raised for the purpose of im- 
proving our ordinary stock ; and we have already at- 
tempted to show what is the value of a thorough-bred 
boar for this purpose. Suffice it to say here, that he is 
worth much more than he is ordinarily sold for. We be- 
lieve that reliable breeders of thorough-bred pigs are 
often unable to supply the demand for boars ; and it is 
certarn that, as their value for improving our common 
pigs becomes more generally recognized, the demand will 
become far greater. At the present time, not one boar in 
a thousand, kept for use in the country, is thorough-bred. 
The American agricultural press, which is becoming a 
mighty power for good in the land, is doing valuable ser- 
vice in calling attention to the importance of using none 
but thorough-bred males of all kinds of stock, and the pros- 
pects of breeders never were more encouraging than now. 
As general intelligence and civilization increase, so in- 
creases the demand for flesh meat of good quality ; and 
the prices paid for it warrant us in using every means in 
our power for increasing the supply. In the future, as in 
the past, the price of pork will fluctuate ; but with our fa- 
cilities for transportation, and the ease with which pork 
can be cured and shipped to any part of the world, the 
American farmer is pretty certain of getting a fair price 



THE PROFIT OF EAISING THOEOUGH-BEED PIGS. 221 

for liis pigs. The English farmers are enabled to compete 
with the pork made fiom our cheap corn-growing sections 
by paying more attention to the improved breeds, and by 
furnishing a superior article. The American farmers of 
the Eastern and Middle States must do the same thing 
in order to successfully compete with raisers of pork in 
the cheap corn-growing sections of the West ; and the first 
step is to introduce thorough-bred boars of the best breeds. 
As long as breeders can sell their pigs at $20 each when 
two months old, it Avill pay to bestow a good deal of at- 
tention on their management. An English breeder is said 
to have made enough out of his pigs to " build a church." 
Many American breeders of Chester County and thfl 
Jefferson County pigs have made a great deal of money 
by the business. 



2:22 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

COOKING FOOD FOR PIGS. 

Nearly all farmers cook more or less food for their pigs. 
Comparatively few do it systematically and regularly 
throughout the year. Potatoes, pumpkins, and food of 
this class, is almost invariably cooked in this country, the 
general plan being to boil or steam the potatoes or pump- 
kins, and after they are cooked, mash them up with meal, 
either in the vessel in which they are cooked, or in the 
feed tub. If the meal is mixed with the cooked food 
while it is boiling hot, and the mass is then covered care- 
fully for a few hours, to retain the heat, the meal becomes 
soft, and is, in fact, more or less cooked, according to the 
skill and judgment with which the operation is performed. 

In England, Swede turnips are often cooked in this 
way, and mixed with barley or Indian corn-meal. But 
they are considered far inferior to potatoes as food for 
pigs. Of late years, the turnips, potatoes, etc., are ground, 
or crushed, and the pulp, as it comes from the machine, is 
mixed with meal. This mixture of meal and pulped roots 
is sometimes steamed, but it is more generally fed without 
cooking, being simply allowed to remain in a heap until 
it becomes warm from fermentation. In this way the 
particles of meal are softened and broken up, and are 
supposed to be more readily digested by the animals. As 
to whether it is more economical to feed raw potatoes 
with raw meal or grain, or to cook them, there seems to 
be no question. We have never known any one who has 
tried steaming or boiling, with even ordinary conveniences, 
that was not perfectly satisfied that it was more profita- 
ble than to feed raw. "We may assume that this fact is 
established by common experience. But, on the other 
hand, as between cooking and pulping, the question may 



COOKING FOOD FOR PIGS. 223 

be considered an open one — that is to say, as to whether 
it is more economical to steam roots and meal, or to pulp 
the roots and mix meal with the pulp, and then allow the 
mixture to ferment, has not heen satisfactorily determined. 
It depends, probably, a good deal on the conveniences for 
doing the work. 

If we might hazard an opinion, from a quite limited 
experience, we should say that, for store pigs and breed- 
ing stock, we should prefer, where there are good conven- 
iences for steaming, to pulp the roots, mix them with suf- 
ficient hay chaff to absorb the juice, and then add a little 
meal, and steam the whole mixture together. The clover 
hay imparts an agreeable flavor to the cooked mass, and 
the pigs eat it with far more avidity than they will eat 
the raw pulp and meal mixture. If we can winter our 
pigs on roots, and clover hay, with a little meal, one of the 
chief objections to keeping a large stock of pigs is en- 
tirely removed. They are then kept on food, the produc- 
tion of which enriches, rather than impoverishes, the soil, 
while the manure from it is of the richest and most valu- 
able description. 

Where pigs are kept for the purpose of supplying the 
demand for choice fresh pork, cooking will probably be 
found essential to success. The pigs should be ready for 
market at from four to five months old. In proportion to 
the food consumed, young pigs (and probably all other 
animals) grow much more ra[)idly than older ones. But 
if they are to grow rapidly, and fatten at the same time, 
they must have the richest and most easily digestible food. 
Of course they must be fed with judgment, varying the 
food as occasion requires, and sometimes giving raw 
grain, but our main dependence must be steamed roots 
and meal ; or, in the absence of roots, we must have 
cooked meal, with sufiicient steamed hay or grass to fill 
the stomach, and keep the bowels regular. The richer the 
food, provided the pigs can eat enough of it to fill their 



224 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

stomachs three times a day, without producing constipa- 
tion or scours, the more rapidly will they fatten. 

There is a sense in which it may truly be said, tliat 
cooking adds nothing to the amount of nutriment in food. 
All that can be claimed for it is that it increases the di- 
gestibility of the food. To what extent this takes place 
has not been determined. In fact, the whole subject is 
surrounded with dilRculty. 

In Chapter III. we have endeavored to show how im- 
portant it is to obtain animals that will eat and digest a 
large amount of food. And it may be recollected that, 
in Dr. Miles' experiments (see page 122), 100 lbs. of meal, 
eaten by one pig, gave an increase of 19' 1^ lbs., while tlie 
same quantity, eaten by f^ro pigs, gave only an increase 
of 3 lbs. The food was of the same character, and the 
difference in the results is due to the better appetite and 
digestive powers of the pig that ate double the amount 
of food. But the fact shows how important it is to pro- 
vide food that pigs will eat and digest. 

Those who advocate cooking food for animals, fre- 
quently assert that it " saves one-quarter of the food." 
We know of no satisfactory experiments which establish 
the fact. And, at any rate, it may safely be asserted that 
the saving of food is only a very small part of the advant- 
age to be gained from cooking. Wbat we should aim 
at in breeding and feeding, is to get pigs to eat 25 per 
cent more, rather than 25 per cent less, food. We have 
assumed (see page 22) that 75 per cent of the food a pig 
eats is ordinarily required to support the vital functions. 
If a pig eats 100 lbs. of com in a month, and gains 20 
lbs., we assume that 75 lbs. are used to support the vital 
functions, and 25 lbs. are left available for growth. On 
this supposition, take three pigs, and put them in separate 
pens. Feed one whole raw com, another raw corn-meal, 
and another cooked corn-meal, and assume that one eats 



COOKING FOOD FOE PIGS. 



223 



87' I, lbs. during the month, the other 100 lbs., and the 
other 125 lbs., and we may then get the following results: 



No. 1, Whole Com, Raw. 

No. 2, Raw Meal . 

No. 3, Cooked Meal 



Food con- 
sumed. 



87'/^ lbs. 
100 
125 



Food requir- 
ed to sustain 
t/ie vital 
functions. 



75 lbs. 

75 " 
75 " 



Food availa- 
ble for in- 
crease of 
gro^otn. 



12H lbs. 

25 

50 



Groiath of 



10 lbs. 
20 " 
40 " 



This is assuming that the grinding and cooking do not 
add anything to the intrinsic nutriment of the food, but 
merely render it more digestible. We assume that when 
whole raw corn is fed, the pig can only digest 87' |^ lbs. 
per month, but when ground and cooked, it can digest 
125 lbs., and gains four times as fast. Of course these 
figures are only hypothetical. They may, or may not, be 
true. We give them merely to illustrate our meaning, 
and to show how important it is to have pigs that can eat 
and digest a large amount of food — and consequently how 
important it is to provide food readily digestible. 

It may be true that cooking enables the pigs to fatten 
on less food, but if so, it must be owing to the inability 
of the pigs to digest the raw food. They must void a 
portion of it in an undigested state. To a certain extent 
this can be avoided by feeding less grain, and furnishing 
the necessary bulk to fill the stomach by supplying a por- 
tion of less concentrated food. When pigs are alloAved 
the run of a clover pasture, they may be fed whole grain 
without much loss from passing it in an undigested state. 
The feeder, by examining the feces, can tell how much 
grain he can feed without loss. If he feeds more than the 
pigs can digest, he suffers a loss of grain ; but if he feeds 
less, he suffers a certain amount of digestive power to 
run to waste. His profits will depend very much on his 
ability to guard against loss from either source. 

We cannot too often call attention to the great mistake 
which many farmers make in not feeding any grain to 



226 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

their pigs during the summer and autumn, while at pas- 
ture. It is not uncommon to furnish the pigs nothing but 
grass and the slops from the house until the time the corn 
crop is ready to husk. They are then shut i;p in a pen, 
and thrown whole corn on the ear. The pigs have been 
accustomed to a bulky food, from which they can extract 
little more than sufficient nutriment to ket-p them alive, 
when, suddenly, they are shut up, and allowed nothing 
but food containing, in a given bulk, three or four times 
as much nutriment. What wonder if a portion of it is 
voided in an undigested state ? If the pig fills his 
stomach, what else can he do with it ? His powers of 
digestion and assimilation are not three times as great 
to-day as they were yesterday, when he had nothing but 
grass. How much more reasonable it would be to feed 
him a little corn when at grass, and a little grass, or other 
succulent food, when shut up to fatten ! 

The corn fed to a pig while at grass increases his pow- 
ers of digestion and assimilation, and as he approaches 
maturity, he will be able to digest and assimilate move 
concentrated food. The aim must be to furnish him all 
he can possibly eat, digest, and assimilate. It is here that 
cooking comes to our aid. It enables us to " crowd " the 
fattening pigs forward rapidly to matuiity. It is a costly 
process, feeding pigs wholly on grain, and we must shorten 
the time as much as possible. The pigs should be kept 
growing rapidly during the summer, increasing the sup- 
ply of grain as the pigs get older, and when shut up to 
fatten, four or five weeks feeding on rich, cooked food, 
should fill them up with lard. 

By looking at our market reports, it will be seen that 
there is a diflTerence of two or three cents per pound in 
the price of pigs, according to their condition and quality. 
And, in point of fact, there is even a still greater difier- 
ence in the intrinsic value of the pork and lard to the 
consumers. 



COOKIXG FOOD FOH PIGS. 227 

This is a point that should not be overlooked in esti- 
mating the advantages of liberal feeding. Take two lit- 
ters of ten pigs, each born, say, the first of September. 
Let both litters have the run of a barn-yard, with the slops 
from the house, dairy, etc. Let one litter have nothing 
but what they can pick up. Let the other have what 
they can pick up, and be supplied with a feed of grain, 
in addition, that shall send them to bed every night with 
a full stomach. By the first of May, the one litter should 
w^eigh 200 lbs. each ; the other would be better than the 
average if they weigh 100 lbs. each. Then let both litters 
have the run of a pasture, with the slops from the house, 
etc. Let the one have nothing else, and the other be al- 
lowed a little grain every day — enough to fill their stom- 
achs every night, and make them sleep comfortably. By 
the first of October, the one litter will weigh — say 350 
lbs., the other 150 lbs. each. Then shut them both up to 
fatten. Let both litters have all the corn they can eat. 
Give one cooked corn-meal, and the other corn in the ear. 
In a month, the one should weigh 400 lbs. each, the other 
175 lbs. each. Last year the one litter would have sold, 
say for 10 cents per lb., live weight, the other for 7'|j 
cents, and we have the following results: 

10 pigs, 400 lbs. each, at 10 cents $400.00 

10 pigs, 175 lbs. each, at IV^ cents 131.25 

To pay for extra feed $208.75 

"We may estimate the extra feed as equal to an average 
of half a pint of corn per day, each, from the first of Oc- 
tober (when the pigs are a month old) to the first of 
December, say half a bushel of corn for each pig. From 
the first of December to the first of May, say one pint 
per day, or less than 2'| ^ bushels for each pig. From May 
until October, allow one quart per day, or, say 5 bushels 
to each pig. This would be 8 bushels of corn to each 
pig. And we have no sort of doubt that, in the circum- 
stances assumed, this 8 bushels of extra corn on each pig, 
10* 



228 HAEKIS ON THE PIG. 

or 80 bushels in all, would make the difference shown by 
llib figures just given. 

To cook grain for pigs merely for the sake of " making 
it go further," will seldom pay on ordinary farms. This 
is particularly the case where grain is comparatively 
cheap, and fuel dear. It is profitable only when adopted 
for the purpose of enabling the pigs to eat and digest a 
greater quantity of food, and bring them rapidly forward 
for market. 

And it is still an open question whether we cannot 
adopt some cheaper method of increasing the digestibility 
of grain than grinding or cooking it. Where grain can 
be ground cheaply on the farm, we would grind or crush 
*t for all kinds of stock. But when it has to be sent 
some distance to a mill, it is Avorth while to see if we can- 
not prepare it at home. 

In Mr. Lawes' experiments on sheep, eight Hampshire 
Down sheep were put in two pens, four in each pen, and 
allowed all the mangel wurzel they would eat. Pen 1 was 
allowed 1 lb. of barley for each sheep, per day, the barley 
being coarsely ground. Pen 2 was allowed the same 
quantity of barley, also coarsely ground, but before being 
fed, it Avas soaked in cold water for 24 or 36 hours. The 
experiment lasted ten weeks. The following are the 
results : 



Pen 1 — Barley-meal, fed dry 

Pen 2 — " " " soaked. 



FOOD CONSUMED BT EACH 
SHEEP PEK WEEK. 



Barley. 



7 lbs. 

7 " 



Mangels. 



96V4 lbs. 



Increase of 

ectch sheep per 

tveek. 



2 lbs., Yi oz. 

2 " 8^2 " 



Soaking the barley enabled the sheep to eat more food, 
and grow 25 per cent faster than those having dry barley. 
Had the sheep been allowed more of the soaked barley, 
the result would probably have been still more in favor of 
the practice. One of the sheep in pen 2 gained 4 lbs. per 
week. He probably got more than his just proportion 



COOKING FOOD FOR PIGS. 229 

of barley, and the other three were obliged to make up 
the deficiency in eating more mangels. And so tlie total 
gain, in proportion to total food consumed, is not as great 
as it otherwise would have been. The amount, of actual 
dry matter in the food, required to produce 1 lb. of in- 
crease, is nearly identical in both pens — 8' \^ lbs. 

With pigs, when they are allowed all the grain they 
will eat, we have no doubt that soaking the grain would 
show still better results. In this country, where we feed 
so few roots, the experience of farmers indicates that they 
have a greater nutritive value than the mere amount of 
nutriment they contain would indicate. This is attribu- 
table, to a certain extent, to the fact that the food in the 
roots is intimately mixed with a large amount of water. 
Now, by soaking grain, it absorbs a considerable amount 
of water. Barley will absorb nearly half its weight of 
cold water. When cooked until it bursts open, it doubt- 
less absorbs a still greater quantity. In the absence of 
roots, therefore, we may obtain food somewhat resembling 
them by soaking or cooking grain. With the requisite 
number of tubs, it is an easy matter to have a constant 
supjily of soaked grain for pigs or other stock. In fact, 
it would not be a difficult matter to soak the grain until 
it had absorbed all the water it would take up, and then 
keep it in a mass, from twelve to sixteen inches deep, 
until it begins to sprout, whereby a portion of the starch 
is converted into sugar. As the grain grows, it must be 
spread out in a thinner layer. But it is probably better 
to feed it out soon after it commences to sprout, as the 
process of germination is attended with more or less loss 
of carbon. 

Where whole grain is steamed, there is a great saving 
of time and fuel by soaking the grain for 24 or 36 hours 
before letting on the steam. We are inclined to think 
that it can be cooked in this way to fully as much advan- 
tage as when it is ground into meal. Grain, whether 



230 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

whole, or ground into meal, cannot be steamed without 
water, and if it could be, it is doubtful if it would be as 
good for the animals. The absorption of the water, and 
having it intimately mixed with the meal, is one of the 
advantages of cooking. Boussingault well says : " The 
absolute necessity of a sufficient degree of moistness in 
the food, in order to secure its due and easy digestion, 
greatly countenances the practice which is beginning to 
be introduced in some places of steeping hay for some 
time in water before giving it to cattle." We thinlc there 
can be no question that soaking or cooking food renders 
it much more easily digestible, and if so, the advantages 
of the practice, where liberal feeding is adopted, cannot 
be doubted. 

We may add that whole grain, thoroughly soaked or 
boiled, swells to about double its bulk, and consequently, 
in feeding, we should allow, at least, twice the quantity 
that the pigs eat when dry. To attain the best results, 
we should watch the pigs eating, and when they have 
eaten up all clean, give a little more, and encourage them 
to eat as much as possible. There is an amusing story in 
the American Agriculturist that illustrates the impor- 
tance of inducing pigs to eat as much as possible. 

" A good story was lately told us of several neighbors 
who, year after year, vied with one another in trying to 
produce the fattest hog, each taking a pig from the same 
litter, or in some way starting fair and square with pigs 
of the same age and size, and doing his best to make it 
as fat as possible before Christmas. One of the farmers 
invariably beat the others out and out so thoroughly, that 
his good luck could never be accounted for as accidental. 
The secret he kept to himself, but being watched by some 
one determined to find it out, the discovery was made 
that jealousy is a grand appetizer for hogs. First the pet 
monster was allowed to fill himself to his heart's content, 
and when his appetite was satiated, a half-starved shoat 



COOKING rOOD FOR PIGS. 



231 



■was let in to the pen by a side door. The fat one would 
at once begin to fight it off, and meanwhile, to gorge him- 
self, simply to prevent the poor, squealing victim of un- 
satisfied cravings getting any food. This was a daily 




JEALOUSY AN AID IN FATTENING. 



programme, and the result was as stated. The fact is 
worth bearing in mind for, in preparing hogs for exhibi- 
tion, or for some reason, we are often desirous of expedit- 
ing the fattening process." 



232 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

SUMMARY, 

It may be well, in conclusion, to state a few facts that 
may have been given in previous chapters, but which it 
may be convenient to place here in a concise form for 
reference. 

The leading breeds of English pigs are Berkshire, 
Essex, and Yorkshire. The Essex are entirely black, the 
Berkshire are also dark colored pigs, but not so black as 
the Essex, and have also white spots on the head and feet. 
There are large and small Berkshires. The Yorkshires 
are white, but occasionally dark spots show themselves 
on the skin, and these are not considered decisive evidence 
that the pigs are not thorough-bred. There are small, 
medium, and large, or mammoth, Yorkshires. 

The Essex will, at maturity, dress from 400 to 450 lbs. 
They are the largest of the small breeds. Berkshires 
often exceed this weight, but when such is the case, they 
would be classed as Large Berkshires. The Prince Albert 
Suffolks are small Yorkshires. 

The leading breeds, originating in the United States, 
are the Cheshires, or Jefferson County, the Chester 
Whites, or Chester County, and the Magie, or Butler 
County pigs. The China-Polands, or China, and Big 
Polands, are said to be the same breed as the Magie, or 
Butler County, The Illinois Swine Breeders' Association, 
at its meeting in 1870, resolved to call them the "Magie" 
breed. They are a large, coarse breed, with black and 
white, and occasionally sandy, spots. Like the Chester 
Whites, they will doubtless afford splendid sows for 
crossing with Essex, Berkshire, or other refined thorough- 



SUMMARY. 233 

bred boars. The Jeflferson County are a very handsome 
white breed, essentially Yorkshires. 

Pigs should always have access to fresh water. No 
matter how " sloppy " the food is, or how much dish-water 
is furnished, they should be furnished with pure water. 
We are satisfied that pigs often suffer for want of it. 

Salt, sulphur, charcoal, ashes, bone-dust, or superphos- 
phate, should occasionally be placed where the pigs can 
eat what they wish of them. 

If thoroughly boiled, pigs will eat beans, though they 
are not fond of them. Peas they eat with avidity, and 
when as cheap as corn, should be fed in preference, as 
they afford much the richest manure. Half peas and 
half corn is j^robably better than either alone. Peas 
make very firm pork. 

Oil-cake, when fed in large quantities, injures the flavor 
and quality of the pork, but we have fed small quantities 
of it, with decided advantage to the health and rapid 
growth of the pigs, without any apparent injury to the 
lard or pork. It is quite useful for breeding sows. It 
keeps the bowels loose, and increases the quantity and 
quality of the milk. 

Bran, except in small quantities, is not a valuable food 
for fattening pigs. It is too bulky. But when rich, con- 
centrated food is given, such as cora, barley, peas, or oil- 
cake, pigs should be allowed all the bran they will eat, 
placed in a separate trough. In this way it becomes a 
very useful and almost indispensable article to the jjig 
feeder. It is also very useful for breeding sows. 

The best roots to raise for pigs are parsnijis and mangel 
wurzel. 

The period of gestation in a sow is almost invariably 
sixteen weeks. In three or four days after pigging, a sow 
in good condition Avill generally take the boar. But, as a 
rule, it is not well to allow it. If she passes this period, 
she will not take the boar until after the pigs are weaned. 



234 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

If she fails the first time, she will " come round again " 
in from two to three weeks. 

For mild cases of diarrhoea, nothing is better than 
fresh, skiinmcd milk thickened with wheat flour. 

Pigs should be castrated a week or so before they are 
weaned. 

Nothing in the management of pigs is more important 
than to provide a trough for the sucking pigs, separate 
from the sow, and to commence feeding them when two 
or three Aveeks old. 

Many of the diseases of pigs are contagious, and the 
instant a pig is observed to be sick, it should be removed 
to a separate pen. And it would be well to regard this 
single case of sickness as an indication that something is 
wrong in the general management of the pigs. Clean 
out the pens, scald the troughs, scrape out all decaying 
matter from under and around them, sprinkle chloride of 
lime about the pen, or, what is probably better, carbolic 
acid. Dry earth is a cheap and excellent disinfectant. 
Use it liberally at all times. Whitewash the walls of the 
pens. Wash all the inside and outside wood- work, 
troughs, plank floors, etc., with crude petroleum. It is 
the cheapest and best antiseptic yet discovered. 

To destroy lice, wash the pig all over with crude pe- 
troleum, and the next day give him a thorough washing 
with warm soft water and soap, with the free use of a 
scrubbing brush. 

In the absence of anything better, we use petroleum 
for all diseases of the skin in pigs, flesh wounds, etc. 

For a mild blister, in cases of cold, or threatened inflam- 
mation of the lungs, foment the body, under the forelegs, 
for an hour or so with cloths wrung out of hot water, 
and rub on a little saleratus or soda occasionally during 
the operation, to soften tlie skin, then apply petroleum. 
This will then act as a mild irritant, and heal at the same 
time. 



SUMMARY. 235 

Mange, or itch,- is caused by a minute insect, which is 
probably hatched from eggs adhering to the skin. There 
is no way of curing it, or of preventing its spread, except 
by kiUing the insects and their eggs — not only on the 
pigs themselves, but also on the sides of the pens, posts, 
or anything that the diseased pig rubs against. To de- 
stroy them on the wood-work, nothing is probably so 
good as petroleum, and though we have not tried it, we 
have little doubt that it would also cure the pigs, espe- 
cially if applied before the disease has made much head- 
way. 

The disease usually manifests itself on the thin skin 
under the armpits and thighs, and inside the forelegs. 
At first, small red blotches or pimples appear, and these 
gradually spread as the insects multiply and burrow under 
the skin. It is well to give sulphur and other cooling 
medicine in the food, but the real aim must be to kill the 
insects by the prompt and continued use of carbolic acid, 
petroleum, or a strong decoction of tobacco. Solutions 
of arsenic and corrosive sublimate are used in severe 
cases, but are dangerous articles to place in the hands of 
inexperienced persons. " Unguentum," or mercurial oint- 
ment, is efficacious, but is not easily applied. 

Measles should be regarded as an evidence of bad treat- 
ment. In-and-in breeding, dirty pens, impure food, and 
especially allowing them to eat the droppings of other 
animals, are probably some of the causes of this disease. 
Where fattening pigs are fed on whole corn, and the 
store jiigs or breeding sows are allowed to eat their drop- 
pings, which they frequently do, it should surprise no one 
if these pigs, or, still more likely, their offspring, are at- 
tacked with measles. From the investigations of Dr. 
Thudicum and others, it is now clearly proved that mea- 
sles in pigs is caused by small entozoa, or internal para- 
sites, which are embryo forms of the common tapeworm. 
Measly pork is a fruitful source of tapeworms, and is unfit 



236 HAKBIS ON THE PIG. 

for human food. We cannot too earnestly caution our 
readers against breeding from pigs tliat have ever been 
affected with measles, or allowing their breeding sows 
to eat the droppings of other animals, and especially of 
their own. Raw flesh meat, too, should never be fed to 
pigs. It contains the embryo tapeworms, and will be 
quite likely to produce measles either in the pigs eating it 
or in their offspring. Dogs are notoriously subject to 
tapeworms (probably from eating raw flesh), and where 
the dog tax is not enforced, we may expect measly pork. 

The seat of measles is the cellular matter immediately 
under the skin. On the skin itself, in pigs affected with 
this disease, will be found a number of small watery pus- 
tules, of a reddish color, and it is attended with cough, 
fever, pustules under tlie tongue, discharge from the nose, 
running from the eyes, weakness of the hind legs, and 
other indications of general debility. Unless neglected, 
the disease seldom proves fatal. Sulphur, saltpeter, Epsom 
salts, or other cooling medicines should be given, with 
a liberal supply of wholesome, nutritious, and easily di- 
gested food. 

Rheumatism is not an uncommon disease, especially in 
thorough-bred pigs, when kept in damp sties, or furnished 
with rich food one week and poor food the next, or kept 
in a warm, ill-ventilated sty, and then exposed to storms, 
and otherwise badly treated. The remedy is Rochelle 
salts, good treatment, and liberal feeding. Give the salt 
for two or three days, say one ounce a day for a 100-lb. 
pig, and less, or more, according to size, and then omit 
them for a few days. 

Protrusion of the rectum, especially with young pigs 
suffering from a severe attack of diarrhoea, is not uncom- 
mon. Wash the gut with warm water, rub on a little 
laudanum, and then gently press the part back into its 
place, pushing up the finger for a short distance. A little 
sucking pig may have five drops of laudanum. 



SUMMARY. 237 

Pigs should be provided with scratching posts, having 
augei'-holes for pegs at diiferent heights, to accommodate 
pigs of different sizes. 

Stephens, in his " Book of the Farm," gives the follow- 
ing description of what may be considered the j^erfection 
of form in a fat pig : " The back should be nearly straight, 
and though arched a little from head to tail, that is no 
fault. The back should be uniformly broad, and rounded 
across along the whole body. The touch all along the 
back should be firm, but springy, the thinnest skin spring- 
ing most. The shoulders, sides, and hams, should be 
deep perpendicularly, and in a straight line from shoulder 
to ham. The closing behind should be filled up ; the legs 
short and bone small ; the neck short, thick, and deep ; 
the cheeks round, and filled out ; the face straight, nose 
fine, eyes bright, ears pricked, and the head small in pro- 
portion to the body. A curled tail is indicative of a 
strong back. All these characteristics," he adds, *' may 
be seen in the figure of the brood sow (fig. 52, page 180), 
though, of course, the sow is not in the fattened state." 



238 HABKIS ON THE PIG. 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

APPENDIX. 

J. Mackelcan, Esq., one of the editors of the Canada 
Farmer, and an intelligent and careful observer, favors us 
with the following notes in regard to his management of 
pigs. 

"My plan of keeping store bogs over winter was to give them a good 
warm sty, with abundance of room and well littered with straw. They 
were fed on a mess made of boiled Swede turnips, mixed with pea chafl 
and finely cut clover hay; the turnips, after being boiled soft, were 
placed iu a barrel, and the chafl' and cut hay mashed into them. In ad- 
dition, they got all the refuse of the kitchen ; what milk that could be 
spared from the dairy being given to the late droi)pcd fall pigs, which 
had a separate sty to themselves. As soon as the clover was well up in 
spring, they had the run of a clover fluid, on which they seemed to 
thrive, so that, when put up to fatten, at 13 to 16 months old they were 
about 300 lbs. weight each. Being in good condition, the process of 
fatting did not take more than three or four weeks ; they were al- 
lowed all they could eat of peas that had been soaked in water until they 
were soft and had begun to ferment. Generally speaking, hogs are fat- 
ted here by simply giving them hard, whole peas as much as they can 
eat for about a month, sometimes iu the field where they grew, the hogs 
being put up in a corner aud fed from the stack ; but it is a wasteful 
process. The best farmers prefer to either giind the peas and then mix 
with a little water, enough to make into dough, or, if there is no mill 
near enough to grind them, to soak the whole peas in water until soft, 
and then feed to the hogs. The Berlishires (the breed I kept) seem to 
have an aptitude for eating aud thriving on clover; my plan with the 
young spring pigs was to take them from the sow at eight weeks old, shut 
them up for a few days, and feed on sour milk or buttermilk in which a 
little shorts or meal had been stirred. As soon as the clover was pretty 
well grown, say about the beginning of May, put them in a small pad- 
dock by themselves. The paddock must be well seeded with a succulent 
growth of j'oung clover, and can be made of rails or boards in a corner 
of a clover field, but must be close enough near the bottom to keep the 
pigs from getting out. To prevent rooting, they had better be ringed. 
The j'oung pigs will live and thrive on the clover all summer as long as 
there is plenty of it. In addition, they should have all the spare milk or 
whey from the dairy, with some meal occasionally, or, if there is no 



APPENDIX. 239 

milk, allow each half a pound of meal i^cr day in water. They must have 
enough to drink, a little salt once in a while, a shed with a tight roof to 
Bhelter them from rain storms or hot suns, and a few shovelfuls of dry 
ashes in which to wallow and keep off lice. This last may be omitted 
or only given once in a while. For young pigs, meal sliould always be 
cooked or scalded, as raw meal is apt to give them the scours. They 
sliould also have free access to charcoal. It is not good for them 
to eat aslies, nor will thej', if they have charcoal; but an ash heap to 
wallow in will keep them fiee from lice and fleas. I should also add 
that mj- store hogs readily eat fresh cut, green clover, so that, if thej- have 
but a small paddock and eat it all down, they can be fed cut clover thrown 
over the fence to them." 

F. W. Stone, Esq., Moreton Lodge, Guelph, Ontario, 

writes : 

" I consider the improved Berkshire the most useful breed for for- 
mers. With pigs, as with every other kind of improved stock, farmers 
should use nothing but pure-bred male animals. Many farmers send 
their sows to a pure-bred boar, and are so well pleased with the young 
pigs, that they select one of them for a boar, and in this waj' the im- 
l>rovement is soon lost. * * There are many unprincipled men who 
sell grades for pure breeds, and those who purchase them are disappoint- 
ed in trying to improve their stock. The breeders of pure-bred stock- 
suffer more from the false representations of such iiersons than in any 
other way. Parties, when commencing to breed, or wishing to improve 
their common stock, should purchase only from reliable breeders, and 
not from jobbers or traders, who sell anything they can make money 
by. The young breeder should select the most perfect animals he can 
find. It is better, in commencing, to invest money in quality rather 
than in numbers. 

" I believe it is better for young sows not to have pigs until they are 
14 or 16 months old, though, if the pigs have been well fed, and proper- 
ly cared for since they were ftxrrovved, good litters may often be obtained 
at 12 montlis. A sow, not well fed, is generally pulled down too much 
to gain the size she otherwise would, by haviug her first litter before 
she is 12 months old. 

"In Canada, pigs are generally fed with pea-meal, or peas and oats, 
chopped and mixed with potatoes or boiled turnips. It is my opinion 
that regularity in feeding is an exceedingly important point. Tliose, 
who throw down, at one time, double the amount of food the pigs can 
eat, and then let the proper time go by without feeding anything, find 
that their pork costs them double what it costs a careful and regular 
feeder who takes pleasure in watching his pigs eat." 

James Howard, M. P., of Bedford, England, a very 

successful breeder of Large or Medium Yorkshires, writes : 

" Mr. Fisher, of Carliead, Yorkshire, has published a capi- 



240 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

tal lecture he delivered on the management of pigs, which 
I will send you. I enclose also a letter from Mr. Sidney. 

*' The White Leicesters have disappeared. They bad little or no hair. 
The large Yorks (not the Mammoth) are the most profitable as they 
grow so fast, and are turned into money quickly. 

" There are no such animals as pure Suffolks. They are the Fisher 
Hobbs Essex variet}'. 

"If you want sows to breed well, do not keep them too fat, nor yet 
in a weakly condition. Let them have a field to run about in. We used 
to fat a great many ' porkers ' with pulped roots, straw, chafi", and Indian 
corn, but we have now such a large demand for breeding pigs, that we 
have none loft for fatting. With respect to feeding, the food should be 
given warm, not hot." 

From this last remark I conclude that the pulped roots, 
chaff, and Indian meal were cooked. 

The following is an extract from Mr. Sidney's letter 
to Mr. Howard : 

" I do not think our pigs have improved during the last ten years 
[since Mr, Sidney's book was written]. On the contrary, our Shows 
are likely to cultivate fat at the expense of constitution. I think Mr. 
Harris mistalccs my advice. [I thought he condemned the use of an 
Essex or Berkshire boar with a white sow.] A cross of black and white 
answers well for feeding, as most first crosses do. I observe that black 
pigs have made their way in Yorkshire." 

The following extracts are from Mr. John Fisher's lec- 
ture on the breeding and management of pigs, alluded to 
by Mr. Howard. Mr. Fisher is the manager of Carhead 
Farm, near Crossbills, Yorkshire, and an experienced and 
successful breeder. We should remark that Carhead is a 
grass farm, and all the food for the pigs is purchased. Mr. 
F. says: 

"I am a decided advocate for early breeding and early feeding, and 
consider October or November the best time for putting sows to the 
boar for the general crop. They will then bring their litter in March, 
and get them weaned, and take the boar again early in May, so that their 
second litter maj' get strong enough to stand the winter ; and if the 
young sows, bred in March, have been liberally fed, and allowed plenty of 
exercise during the summer, they will be quite ready to take the boar in 
November, and bring their first litter at twelve months old. And we 
consider this the best way either to commence or increase a stock of 
breeding pigs, and should not endorse the claim to early maturity in any 
breed of pigs, if they were not unfit to rear a litter of young at twelve 



APPENDIX. 241 

months old. If young sows are allowed to run until they are twelve or 
fifteen mouths old before they are put to breeding, they are very apt to 
miss their way altogether ; and we find that the most successful breed- 
ers arc those which are put to, when j'oung, and are kept regularly 
breeding; consequently we do not disappoint them, but allow them to 
bring two litters a year. After their first litter we keep them sparingly, 
except when suckling. When they have weaned their spring litter, and 
have taken the boar again, they are turned into a grass field, in which 
there is a large shed, with rails across the doorway to prevent cattle en- 
tering. In tills shed they sleep at night, or retire in rainy weather. If 
the gi'ass is not very plentiful, we give about a pint each of Indian corn 
per day, scattering it on the grass, and they can drink water from a stone 
trough which is fed by a spring, and placed near the ground that thej' 
may reach it conveniently. But they mostly gain so much flesh from 
being well fed while suckling-, th:it they require little more than grass; 
and some which have had nothing else, have done as well as we could 
wish them. 

" When the sows are brought into the breeding house, they are at 
once put on the same kind of food as will be continued to them while 
they are suckling. They arc tumed out for a few minutes twice a day, 
before feeding, which keeps the bowels in proper order, and the house 
di-y and sweet, for it is very important that the bowels are open at this 
time, foi-, if constipated, the milk will not come freely, and the young 
seldom do well ; besides which, it interferes with the free passage of the 
mine, causing great uneasiness, and, if not removed, it would lead to 
serious consequences, for which purpose we give frequent injections of 
warm water, and walk the patient carefully out, for a few minutes at a 
time, until we see that the obstruction has passed. Sometimes we mix 
a little common soap in the warm water, and have never experienced 
much difficulty when these means have been used. 

"We give a moderate bed of short straw three or four days before 
they are expected to farrow, that it may become soft by the time they 
are due, which, as the time approaches, they will collect on a heap, and 
jilace themselves upon it in such a manner that by raising the body it 
assists them in their efforts during parturition, and this, as well as most 
other nuxtters at this time, we leave entirely to themselves, believing 
that they can mostly manage their own business best without our inter- 
ference. And except with very fat sows, or during very cold weather, 
we do not remain with them while farrowing, but give an occasional eye 
to them to see that there is no unusual delay. If the presentations are 
proper, they will often pass three or four in as many minutes, but when 
the hind feet are presented foremost, they get on slowly, and sometimes 
half the litter will come in this waj', but assistance in such cases will mostly 
do more harm tlian good, for in drawing the birth by the hind legs, the 
viscera is forced into the chest, and the life is thereby endangered to no 
puri)ose, for if ever they get so far on their way as to be within the reach 
of ordinary aid, they will be passed safer without it. 
11 



242 HAEEIS ON THE PIG. 

" The pigs usually begin to eat along with the mother when about 
three vveelis old, but may be learnt much youuger if a little warm milk 
be given to them two or three times a day, while the sow is removed 
fiom them for a few minutes. About the time they begin to eat, they 
frequently suffer from diarrhcea, which, if it continue for any length of 
T time, will weaken them very much. The disorder will sometimes be 
caused by allowing the mother to eat grass or other green food when 
turued out, or even by a change from one kiud of meat to another, for 
which reason we avoid as far as we can any change of food during the 
time they are suckling, and continue the same to the young after they 
are weaned. And as it is very difficult as well as dangerous to administer 
medicine to them by force, we do not attempt to relieve them by that 
means, neither can they be induced to take it if mixed Mith their food, 
for they will not eat at such times, but depend entirely on the teat, for 
■which reasons we diet the mother carefully, and allow as much small 
coal as she will eat, throwing a shovelful upon the bed, that the young 
ones may eat a little if they like; we also strew the floor with sawdust 
to prevent bad smells, keeping them warm, and giving as much fresh air 
as possible. If the purging continues, we change them to a fresh sty, 
takiui!; care that it is dr^' and warm, and well aired. If young pigs can 
be allowed a run out with the mother for half an hour in the morning 
and evening, they will grow all the faster for it; but the middle of the 
day, when the sun is hot, should be a\ oided, for if their backs get much 
scorched it will retard their growth for a while. 

"All such as arc not required for breeding purposes, should be cas- 
trated at from four to five weeks old, that they maj' recover before they 
are weaned. There are two ways of doing most things, and the best 
way is generally the easier, and always to be preferred, and in catching 
j'oung pigs for castration, or any other purpose, great care should be 
used, as thej' are easily lamed, and having covered the window and closed 
the door to exclude the light, the operator should allow them to settle 
quietly in a corner, and taking the right hind leg with his right hand, 
then with his left hand he should lay firmly hold of the same leg, above 
the hough joint, and quiclily passing his right hand forward, and under 
the chest, lay firmly hold of the left fore let/, and rai^e the pig with his 
right hand, using as little force as possible on the hind legs, and never 
hold them up by the heels, as the intestines are liable to get twisted if 
held in that position. 

" We usually wean at from seven to ten weeks old, and separate the 
boars from the sows soon after. We seldom keep more than five or six 
together in the same sty, and as thej' grow larger, we reduce the num- 
ber, in proportion to the size of the sty. 

"The feeder commences in the morning about seven o'clock, begin- 
ning at one end, and regulating the food according to circumstances, 
and as he goes on, he rouses every pig up, and sees that all come to take 
their breakfast; should any refuse he repoits the case; and having fin- 
ished feeding he takes his barrow, fork, shovel, and besom, and proceeds 



APPEN^DIX. 24B 

in the same order to clean the sties ; for, on being roused up, after hiy- 
iii!^ still all night, they crai")tj' themselves while eating, and this beeomes 
habitual and keeps their beds clean and dry, which is a matter of great 
importance to us, as we have all our straw to buy at a dear rate, and 
have to economise it aceordingl}', for which reason most of our sties arc 
ju-ovided with wooden sleeping benches similar to that given in the de- 
scription of tlie breeding house. So proceeding to No. 1, he turns the 
occupants out, shakes up the bed, sweeps all clean, and taking up witli 
the shovel what had to be removed, he places it iu the barrow, returns 
tliem to their sty again, and passing on to No. 3, treating them in the 
same way, and so on to the end. By this means the sties are kept clean 
during the grenter part of the day; Avhile out, they have free access to 
a heap of small coal, which is kept iu a coi'ner of the yard entirely for 
their use, of which they seldom fail to avail themselves, whenever the}' 
have an opportunity ; there is also a trough with water, of which they 
sometimes drink a little. 

"To enable jiigs to thrive properly, they must be kept in a state of 
robust health, for which purpose, proper shelter and a certain amount 
of exercise, is quite as necessary as good feeding, and all dark, damp, 
crarapy sties should be avoided. There is no place in which young 
growing stores do better than a good straw-yard during the winter 
months. 

"Pigs will occasionally catch cold, especially when in low condition ; 
but, if taken in time, and placed iu a warm stj' b}' themselves, witli a 
little extra nursing, such as warm milk and water, with a little bran or 
pollard, not forgetting the warm Avater injections if the bowels get out 
of order, they will mostly be right again in a few days. If the case be a 
bad one, and accompanied by much fever, and the patient will lie still, 
we cover \ip with a wet rag, leaving only the nose out, ])ouring cold wa- 
ter on to saturate it thoroughly, and then cover up with two or three 
sacks to keep the steam in, and have found this bath give very great re- 
lief Pigs have a very great objection to anj' kind of restraint, as well 
as a strong dislike to ph3'sie, and if held for tlie purpose of administer- 
ing it, thej' struggle and scream so much, that they do themselves more 
harm b}' it, than the medicine is likely to do them good; besides, if not 
done in a careful manner, there is great danger in forcing anj' liquid 
into their mouths, for if introduced while they are screaming, they are 
almost certain to be choked by it, so that the operator must wait until 
they have done screaming, which will mostly be when they are out of 
breath and cannot go on any longer, for whicli reason we have not used 
medicine for several years past. They have also a very decided objec- 
tion to strangers being admitted into their society, even if one of their 
fellows leave them for a few days, on their return they are beset and 
worried iu a most unfriendly manner; and if the intruder cannot find 
means of retreat, they will often get cut and gored a good deal ; where 
the teeth penetrate beyond the skin, swellings will arise, which if they 
become very large, they may be carefully opened with a lance, or sharp 



244 HAKEIS ON THE PIG. 

pointed knife, on the lower side, directing the point upwards, that the 
matter may escape, when the3' will soon heal without further trouble. 

" Fat heavy pigs are easily lamed in the hind-quarters or hind legs, 
and should be very carefully driven over slippery or uneven grountl. 
When so lamed, the butclier is the best remedy and the sooner the bet- 
ter, as they lose flesh fast, when they come to lie and cannot rise easily. 
They are also subject to rheumatic attacks, especiallj' in the hind legs, 
■which may easily be mistaken for accidental lameness ; sometimes they 
Avill suddenly become lume in one leg, and then the lameness will as 
suddenly change to tlie other, or perhaps leave tliem altogether. I con- 
sulted Professor Simonds, of the Royal Veterinary College, on this dis- 
ease, and he recommended a strong stimulating liniment, or liquid 
blister to be applied to the hough joint, and well rubbed in, and I have 
used it with A-ery beifeficial results ; also, if confined for any length of 
time where the wet litter is allowed to accumulate under them, their 
hoofs grow to a great lengtli, and tlie feet become unsound and full of 
clefts, when the hoofs should be shortened, for which purpose we use a 
pair of strong, wire-clipping pinchers, taking care not to injure the sensi- 
tive part of the foot, and trim with a shepherd's knife ; and for diseased 
feet we have found nothing so good as a bran poultice, Avith two or three 
spoonfuls of fresh brewer's yeast mixed with it, and put in a strong bag 
or boot, into which the foot is introduced, and secured with a string 
when the animal is laid down. It may be kept wet by pouring water on 
it two or tlirce times a day, and changed daily." 

T. L. Ilarison, Esq., Morley, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., 
writes : 

"I do not think I can give you any ideas of value as to the breeds and 
breeding of pigs, for my experience has been with SuffolUs only, and 
the breeding them has been with me a matter of great simplicity, and in 
which I have found no difficulties to contend with. I have found the 
SufTolks hardy, xi''olifie, good nurses, and good feeders. Those who 
have had barren sows have, I tiiink, allowed them to get too fat before 
breeding. This is the only risk that I know of, and it is to be guarded 
against. My plan was to kecji over such young sows as I selected for 
breeders generally from fall litters, but seldom from spring litters. 
These were usually kept in a yard or in a small grass field, so that tliey 
were on the ground and had plenty of exercise, and when served about 
December 1st would be from 14 to 16 montlis old and in fiir (extra, per- 
haps) store condition. After they were witli pig, they would of course 
during the winter get fat, but in my breeding that never did any harm. 
My only trouble was in the loss of young pigs, in consequence of the 
milk of their mothers being too rich. This makes it necessary to be 
careful how you feed the sows while suckling, and I found that bran 
with the refuse of the house made a better food than grain at such times. 

" I do not know about plans of pig ]iens. I have never seen any tliat 
I thought had much merit. In fact, I would never use pens, except for 



APPENDIX. 245 

fattening hogs, for the boars in use, and occasionally for breeding sows 
before furrowing; but, except in the first case, there should be small 
yards attached. The best place for pigs is a yard with a well-made shed 
attached, the shed having doors that can be closed in verj' severe weather." 

Hon. John M. Milliken, of Maplewood, Hamilton, 
Ohio, in addition to the facts already quoted in regard to 
the Butler County or Magie jjigs, Avrites as follows : " I 
wish to add the following statement furnished me by one 
of our breeders, whose truthfulness is unquestioned. He 
bred a sow which came on the 10th of June, 1866. On 
the 18th of April, 1867, she had 11 pigs, Avhich weighed, 
gross, in October following, 2,735 lbs, 

" He fattened the sow the winter following, and her net 
weight was 535 lbs. The sow pigs he left for breeders, 
and sold 5 barrows, aged 8 months and 20 days, which av- 
eraged 282 lbs, net. The history of this sow and her 11 
pigs proves that they possessed early fattening properties, 
large size, and fecundity, — three very desirable qualities," 



246 HARRIS ojsr the pig. 

CHAPTEE XXVII. 
RESULTS OF LATER EXPERIENCE. 

In preparing a new edition of my book, I propose to 
make no changes in the old work. What is written is 
written, and I will let it stand. 

It is thirteen years since the book was first published, 
and during that time I have raised thousands of pigs. I 
do not know that my yiews have changed. It is quite 
probable, however, that if I had to write the book now, 
some things which I previously thought of great import- 
ance would be passed lightly, while others which were 
only incidentally alluded to, would be considered abso- 
lutely essential to success. I should certainly have less 
respect for my own theories, and more confidence in the 
wisdom and practice of ordinary farmers. I do not say 
that the theories on which many of the recommendations 
in this book are based have not stood the test of experi- 
ence, but I have learned that what we gain in one direc- 
tion we are very apt to lose in another. I believe the 
theories are true, but it is very easy to push them too 
far. I do not claim to be the originator of the idea that 
an animal requires a certain amount of food to live on, 
and that the increase of flesh, or fat, or milk, or growth 
in general, comes from the food eaten in excess of that 
amount; but I do claim that the idea was original with 
me, and it is possible I pushed it to an extreme. 

I can now take a calmer and moi'e practical view of the 
matter. There are other things to be taken into consid- 
eration. At any rate, my original and pet idea is now 
universally accepted by all agricultural writers, and the 
''maintenance ration," or the amount of food required 
to maintain an animal so that it will neither gain nor lose. 



RESULTS OF LATER EXPERIEIfCE. 247 

is a common phrase in all scientific discussions on this 
subject. We all know now that it is very desirable to re- 
duce the "maintenance ration" to the lowest point on 
the one hand, and to increase the " food ration " as much 
as possible on the other hand. In other words, it is veiy 
desirable to raise animals that are so quiet in disposition 
and with so little offal parts, that they can be maintained 
on the smallest amount of food, while at the same time 
they should be capable of eating, digesting, and assimi- 
lating as much food as possible. This is the prominent 
idea of the book as originally written. I have nothing 
to take back. It is as true now as it was when first 
written. The only difference is, that when I first wrote 
this book, the idea was a new one, and many were dis- 
posed to controvert it, while it is now a generally ac- 
cepted truth, and not a few writers are disposed to push 
it to an extreme. 

A dozen or twenty years ago the prevailing American 
hog was a coarse, ill-bred animal. I had just such hogs 
on my own farm — hogs that would race about all day 
and squeal all night — hogs that would catch a hen, eat a 
lamb, kill a sheep, and even maim a horse. In writing 
this book I had such hogs in my mind. I wanted to im- 
prove them. I wanted to stop their squealing. I wanted 
to give them less bone, less hair, and more flesh and fat. 

I have accomplished this object; I keep pigs by the 
hundred, but I rarely hear a squeal, and they are so quiet 
that a very slight fence will keep them in the pasture 
lots. With such pigs constantly in view, things which 
I thought very important twenty years ago, are now of 
little moment. 

The change which has taken place in the character of 
the hogs on my own farm, has taken place also on tens of 
thousands of farms in all the great hog-producing sec- 
tions of the country. The improvement which has taken 
place in the breeding and management of pigs in the 



248 HAREIS OK THE PIG. 

United States is something woiiderfnL Our cattle, 
slieep, and poultry are far superior to those of twenty 
years ago, but the im23rovement, as a whole, is by no 
means so mai'ked as the improvement which has taken 
place in the character of our pigs. To-day there are no 
finer hogs in the Avorld than can be found in the United 
States, and certainly in no other country can so many 
really good hogs be found. 

It may be equally true that there are, perhaps, not 
over two or three countries in the world in which so 
many poor hogs can be found. Our good hogs are very 
good, and our bad hogs are very bad indeed. I may 
say without vanity that farmers who still raise bad hogs 
might follow the advice given in the old pages of this 
book with decided advantage. They should select out 
the best formed, largest, quietest, healthiest, and most 
thrifty sows they can find on their own farm, or on the 
farms of their neighbors, and cross them with the best, 
quietest, and most highly-refined thorough-bred boar 
they can purchase. 

The breed they select from is of compai-atively little 
importance. The real point, I think, is to get a boar that 
is pure-bred, and which is distinguished for his quietness 
of disposition, either in himself or his ancestors, and 
also for his fineness of bone, fine hair, and little offal of 
all kinds. 

It may well be that the boar it is best to select is not 
by any means a model. He might not take a prize at 
any fair. He may be a small, insignificant pig, but ii 
ho is a pure-bred, and comes from a race of well-formed, 
pure-bred ancestors, you can use him with the greatest 
advantage. There is no doubt on this jioint. I have 
seen it tried again and again, and have never known a 
failure. 

Of course it is necessary to feed well. The best loco- 
motive cannot be run at a high rate of speed without am 



RESULTS OF LATER EXPERIENCE. 349 

abundant supply of fuel, and you cannot obtain rapid 
growth in a pig witliout a liberal and constant supply of 
food. Breeding and feeding must go together. Breed- 
ing without feeding will result in disappointment; feed- 
ing without breeding is a mere waste of food. 

It is unnecessary to say more on this point. I only 
desire to emphasize what I have said in the body of the 
book. There are many sections in the United States 
where the hogs are no better than our hogs were in this 
section twenty years ago. In fact, a drive of ten miles 
in any direction among our best farmers, w411 show quite 
a number of hogs that are anything but models. So far 
as outward appearance goes, they have almost every qual- 
ity that is bad. They are coarse in hair, bones, hoofs, 
ears, and nose. They look large, but when put on the 
scales, it is found that they do not weigh in projoortion to 
their size. Such a race of pigs can be very easily im- 
proved in the way I have suggested. I do not want to 
see this race of hogs become extinct, and, in fact, there 
is no danger of it. They are well adapted to the kind of 
life they are expected to lead. They are hardy, healthy, 
good foragers, good breeders, and good milkers. When 
well fattened, they furnish good hams, good pork, and 
good lard, and a good deal of it. The trouble with these 
hogs is that they are not profitable. Their " mainte- 
nance ration " is a high one, and if it was not for the fact 
that much of their food consists of refuse which would 
otherwise be wasted, no farmer could afford to keep them. 
When shut up to fatten, however, they not unfrequently 
make quite a respectable increase. 

What we want to do is to retain the good qualities of 
these hogs and get rid of the bad ones. It is as easy 
to do this as it is to graft some of our hardy, vigorous, 
native apple ti'ces with a choice variety. All we have to 
do is, to use a thorough-bred boar, feed well, and take 
good care of the pigs. I have again and again, seen little 



250 HARRIS OK THE PIG. 

pigs from such a sow and a thorough-bred Essex, far 
handsomer, larger, and in every way better than any 
thorough-bred Essex in my whole herd. I have seen the 
same result from a similar cross with, what was formerly 
called, Prince Albert Suffolk, or what we would now call 
Small Yorkshire. The grade pigs were as well formed 
and handsome as the thorough-breds, and considerably 
larger. 

IMPROVIN^G IMPROVED PIGS. 

As I have before said, the improvement which has 
taken place in the character of an immense number of 
American hogs is something wonderful. There may be 
some difference of opinion as to how this remarkable im- 
provement has been brought about. Some will say it is 
caused by the substitution of new breeds for the old ones. 
Others will say that, while this is true in some degree, the 
general improvement which has taken place in millions 
of American hogs, is owing to an infusion of thorough- 
bred blood. Whatever the cause, the fact of the improve- 
ment cannot be doubted. The character of our hogs on 
many farms and in many sections has essentially changed. 
How to improve these improved hogs is an important 
question. We shall make a great mistake if we assume 
that there is nothing more to be done. We can never 
stand still. Our hogs will get better or worse. And, un- 
fortunately, we have very little experience to guide us. The 
experience we have to fall back upon is not always of an 
encouraging character. Going back to England, we find 
" improved " breeds in almost every county. They come 
and go without number. They are, and have been, essen- 
tially grades or cross-breds. I do not know of an English 
breed that was not originally the result of a cross. I am 
inclined to think, too, that many of the most successful 
English exhibitors at Agricultural Fairs, occasionally re- 
sort to a cross. Erom the nature of the case, however, 



EESULTS OF LATER EXPEEIENCE. §51 

it is not easy to ascertain the facts. No public record is 
kejit, and no pedigrees are reqiiJi'ed by the Agricultural 
Societies offering the prizes. The prizes are offered for 
tlie best pig in a given class, and so far as my experience 
and observation go, the best show pig is often a cross- 
bred or grade. The EngUsh are skillful pig feeders. 
Many of their prize pigs are marvelously fat, and they 
have sense enough not to breed from tbem. It is aston- 
ishing how many pigs are entered at the English fairs, 
*'age and breeder unknown." I know of a pair of Essex 
pigs, a breed which is supposed to be entirely black, pur- 
chased in England at a very high price from a reputable 
breeder, the first litter of which, after they came to this 
country, were nearly half white. 

I am inclined to think that the answer to our question, 
how to improve our improved hogs ? so far as English 
experience and English practice throws any light on the 
subject, would be to cross them. 

SHALL WE CEOSS OUR IMPROVED BREEDS? 

Every American breeder will say no, and I believe the 
American breeders are right. They will say improve the 
breed by careful and Judicious selection, and whatever you 
do, keep the breed scrujiulously pure. No cross can be 
entertained for a moment. 

It is necessary, however, to have clear and definite 
ideas on this subject. We must know what we are talk- 
ing about. We must know what we want, and why we 
want it. If Ave want pigs to take prizes at the Agricul- 
tural Fairs, that is one thing; if we want pigs that are 
healthy, hardy, vigorous, and that are to some extent 
capable of taking care of themselves, and which at the 
same time will grow rapidly, fatten easily, and produce a 
large amount of ham, pork, breakfast bacon, and lard, in 
proportion to the food consumed, that is another thing ; 
but if we want pigs principally for breeders, if our object 



252 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

is to raise boars to be used in improying the general 
swine stock of the country, that is another and very 
different object. 

It may be thought that we can keej) pigs for each one 
and all of these different objects combined, and such is 
undoubtedly the case, but it remains to be shoAvn whether 
this combined pig is now, or eyer can be, as good a pig 
for these different purposes, as pigs would be which are 
carefully bred for each special object alone. 

I haye for many years kept a large herd of pure-bred 
Essex pigs. I keep them mainly for breeding purposes, 
fattening and selling to the butcher only those that are 
not good enough, or are not required, for breeders. I 
am very certain that it would not pay me to keep pure- 
bred Essex pigs solely to fatten and sell to the butcher. 
It may be said that the breed is at fault, and that if I 
kept Yorkshires, or Berkshires, or Poland- Chinas, I 
should come to a diJfferent conclusion. Perhaps so, per- 
ha]3s not. 

I am a little radical on this subject. I keep pure-bred 
Cotsv/old sheep, but I am sure, if I kept sheep solely for 
their mutton and wool, and not for the purpose of selling 
them for breeders, I Avould not keep pure-bred Cotswolds. 
I know that the grades are hardier, healthier, more 
vigorous, fatten easier, and are more profitable for wool 
and mutton than the j)ure-breds. How many farmers 
are there in England or America that keep jDure-bred 
Shorthorns, or Herefords, or Devons, solely for milk and 
beef ? How many keep pure-bred Jerseys or Ayrshires 
solely for batter and milk ? It may be said that the 
animals cost too much to permit their being used for 
ordinary purposes. I doubt very much whether this is 
the true explanation. If a high-bred Duchess Short- 
horn, could be produced and raised as easily as a scrub, 
these choice animals would not be so scarce and high. 

The great value of the pure-bred male animal consists 



EESULTS OF LATEE EXPERIENCE. 253 

in the fact that, during his life he may become the father 
of hundreds of animals which are vastly superior for 
man's use to the offspring of a common or cross-bred 
sire. 

I have given my views on this subject in the old pages 
of the book, and need only say that experience and ob- 
servation have only tended to strengthen them. I have 
never heard them disputed by any intelligent farmer or 
breeder. 

Breeders all agree in regard to the great improvement 
which can be effected by the use of a pure- bred sire- 
Many of them, however, think that we can get better, 
handsomer, healthier, more vigorous, and more profit- 
able pigs, from a pure-bred sow and a pure-bred boar than 
we can from a grade sow and a pure-bred boar. Perhaps 
they are right, but my impressions are all the other way. 

I would in all cases use a pure-bred boar ; but when 
pigs are kept solely for ordinary purposes, I believe the 
offspring of carefully selected grade sows Avill be healthier 
and more profitable than from pure-bred sows. 

The way to improve our improved pigs, therefore, in 
my opinion, is to frequently introduce new blood, not on 
the side of the sire, but on the side of the dam. 

LAEGE, COAESE HOGS. 

"When I first wrote this book, I had a special spite 
against large, coarse hogs. I thought them most un- 
profitable brutes. I think so still, but I should be very 
sorry to see them disappear from our farms. I do not 
think there is any danger, as large, heavy hogs always 
have been, and always will be, more or less popular. 

A dozen or fifteen years ago the great aim in improv- 
ing our common hogs was, to refine them — to get rid of 
bristles, coarse hair, thick skin, large bones, and other 
offal parts. There, is no way of doing this without re- 
ducing the apparent size of the pigs. This improvement 



254 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

has been made ; and in many cases the improvement has 
been carried as far as it is desirable to go in this direc- 
tion, and it may well be that in many cases we should 
now aim to get larger and coarser hogs. 

POLAND-CHINA OR MAGEE HOGS. 

When I wrote this book in 1870 I had no intention of 
saying anything to the injury of any breed of hogs. 
Many of my friends think I did injustice to the Poland- 
China hogs. At that time I had little acquaintance with 
the breed. I had seen only a few specimens, and these 
were large and coarse, and far from attractive-looking 
animals. I think the breeders of the Poland-China hogs 
will themselves acknowledge that the breed has under- 
gone great changes since 1870. Many of them are now 
as fine, smooth, and well formed as the best Berkshires 
— finer than many of the Berkshires were twenty-five 
years ago. 

That I had no intention of doing the Poland-China 
hogs injustice, is evident from the fact that I published 
what one of their most enthusiastic advocates, the Hon. 
John M. Milliken, had to say in regard to them. At 
that time he called them the Magee or Butler County 
hogs. The name Poland- China has been given them 
since that time, and is now generally recognized. There 
can be no doubt that they are not only a remarkably 
valuable breed of hogs, but that they are fully entitled 
to be recognized as a distinct and fully-established breed, 
quite as much so as the Bershires, Yorksliires, Essex, and 
other English breeds. That they were originally cross- 
bred is freely admitted, but the same is equally true of all 
the recognized English breeds of pigs. 

In regard to the origin of the Poland-China or Magee 
hogs nothing need be added to the facts given by Mr. 
Milliken, pages 113-15 of this book. 



RESULTS OF LATER EXPERIENCE. 255 

PUBLIC RECORDS OF PIG PEDIGREES. 

One of the most remarkable changes which has taken 
place in regard to pig-breeding since tliis book was writ- 
ten, is the successful establishment of the Berkshire 
Breeders' Association, and a public record of pnre-brecl 
Berkshires. The Poland-China breeders have also formed 
a similar Association and Record. There can be no doubt 
of the great value of these Associations and Eecords. 
They are new things in pig-breeding. These breeds will 
now be kept unquestionably pure, and the value of the 
animals will be greatly augmented. It is very doubtful, 
however, whether the general appearance of the pigs will 
be improved by it. If the breeders can hold their own, 
they will be entitled to great credit. In other Avords, if 
you can get a Berkshire boar witli a recorded pedigree of 
distinguished ancestors for fifteen or twenty generations 
back, that is as vigorous, healthy, handsome, well-formed, 
and in every resjDCct as good as any of his original ances- 
tors, he would be a remarkably valuable animal. The 
breeders should not feel discouraged if they find it diffi- 
cult to attain such results. Cross-bred, or grade pigs, as 
a rule, will make better animals for the show-yard or for 
the butcher, than those which have been bred pure for 
several generations. In justice to the breeders this 
matter ought to be understood. 

RAISING THOROUGH-BRED PIGS. 

It may be thought that there is no difference in the 
management of thorough-bred and ordinary pigs ; and to 
a certain extent this is true. But we all know that, as 
ordinarily managed, a very large number of young pigs 
are lost every year. How often do we hear farmers say, 
'*My sow had a litter of ten pigs, but the brute killed 
half of them." In many cases the loss is even greater 
than this. Sometimes sows will eat their own pigs, but 
the greatest loss occurs from the sow, unintentionally, 



256 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

lying down on the little pigs and crushing them to 
death. 

With ordinary pigs the loss is sufficiently aggravating, 
but with thorough-bred pigs of great value, the loss is 
peculiarly vexatious and discouraging. 

There is no way of preventing a sow from l}*ing on her 
pigs. There is nothing for it but watchfulness and care. 
All mechanical contrivances are useless. It is generally 
recommended to place a rail horizontally all around the 
inside of the pen, about a foot distant from tlie sides and 
some eight or ten inches from the floor of the pen. The 
object of this is to prevent the sow from crushing her 
little pigs against the sides of the pen. It was thought 
that the little ones could run under the rail and escape. 
Nearly all my pens are so constructed, but I can see no 
advantage in the plan. We all want to provide a farrow- 
ing sow with straw or leaves enough to keep her comfort- 
able. Sometimes we use straw that has been run through 
it, cutting-box, and sometimes we maike use of it the full 
length. I do not know that it makes much difference 
which is used, though I formerly thought the chaffed 
straw was better. One thing I know — no matter Avhether 
you use long straw, or short straw, a sow about to have 
pigs will push the straw under the rail, until it is as firm 
and compact as the sides of the pen would be if no rail 
was there. A little pig, if caught against this compact 
mass of straw, would be as certainly killed as if the sow 
lay against the sides of the pen. You cannot cure a sow 
of this habit. She knows what she is about. She Avants 
her little pigs to get to the teats ; and the only way she 
has of accomplishing this object is to prevent them from 
getting on the wrong side of her, by placing her back firm- 
ly against the sides of the pen. If necessary, slie will use 
every bit of straw there is in the pen for filling up the 
space under the rail where she makes her nest. If you 
"ive her straw enough, the rail is an advantage, for the 



EESULTS OF LATER EXPEKIEISTCE. 25? 

compact straw under the rail makes a warmer nest, but it 
is otherwise useless. 

The great point in the management of farrowing sows 
is to make them as quiet and gentle as possible. If you 
are raising thorough-bred pigs, make pets of them. The 
sow, when about to have pigs, should be placed in a sepa- 
rate pen for several days in advance, so that she shall be- 
come quiet and accustomed to the pen. Her food should 
consist principally of warm water with a little grease in 
it, with say a quart of bran to a ten-quart pail of water. 
There is nothing better for her, after she has had her pigs, 
than this same warm water and grease, gradually made 
richer by the use of more bran and of meal. 

A few hours before farrowing the milk always comes 
into the teats. It is a good plan, especially in the case of 
thorough-bred sows, to accustom them to the presence of 
some one in the pen. There is nothing a sow so well likes 
as to have her teats rubbed or milked. By a little gentle- 
ness, and by rubbing and milking her teats, it is an easy 
matter to make the sow lie down. 

In the summer-time, I frequently let my sows farrow in 
the field, and almost invariably without loss. The sows 
make their own nests in a fence corner, and manage the 
whole matter quite as well as if the best of us were pres- 
ent to direct the operation. Do not conclude from this, 
however, that the less you look after your breeding sows 
the better. The weather is warm, the sow is living on 
succulent grass, and everything is favorable. More pigs 
are lost from cold than from all other causes combined. 
It is useless to try to make the pens warm by artificial 
means, for in this case you are almost certain to get 'bad 
ventilation and to do more harm tlian good. 

sows FAREOWIKG IN" COLD WEATHER. 

I like to have my sows farrow early in the spring. I 
frequently have many litters in February and March, and 



258 HAKRIS OH THE PIG. 

sometimes when the thermometer is down to zero. At 
such a time any previous petting you have given the sow 
will stand you in good stead. 

As soon as the milk comes into the teats, rub the teats 
or milk them until the sow lies down in her nest with her 
back to the sides of the pen. Then cover her with a 
horse-blanket. At first she may object to the blanket, 
and Avill spring up. If so, rub her teats until she lies 
down again. Then cover her with the blanket, and re- 
peat the operation until she gets perfectly accustomed to 
it. In this way, no matter how cold the weather is, you 
can keep the sow and her little ones thoroughly warm and 
comfortable. After the first few hours the little pigs will 
be strong enough to get along without the blanket. They 
keep warm from being in close contact with the mother ; 
but when the sow gets up to eat her food, it is desirable to 
cover the little pigs with the blanket, and, after the sow 
lies down again, it is well to cover sow and pigs with the 
blanket until the animal heat of the mother thorough- 
ly warms the litter. It frequently haj^pens, on going 
to a pen in the morning, you find a litter of young pigs 
more or less chilled, and, it may be, the sow is at the 
trough and the little pigs are running about the pen 
squealing with the cold, and in every way presenting a 
very forlorn and unpromising appearance. What you 
want to do in such a case is to get the sow to lie down as 
soon as possible by rubbing her teats. When this is ac- 
complished, cover her with a blanket, and as the little 
pigs come to her get them under the blanket also. More 
or less patience and skill are required to do this. If you 
catch the little pigs they will squeal, and the sow will in- 
stantly jumi^ up, and you will have to go through the 
operation again. An India-rubber bag, filled with hot 
water, will be found very useful. The little pigs, as soon 
as they perceive the heat Avill crowd around it, and in 
this way can very readily be got under the blanket. If 



KESULTS OF LATER EXPERIENCE. 359 

you have a steamer, a common grain-bag filled with hot, 
steamed, chaffed-hay or straw will be found very conven- 
ient. I should hardly know myself how to get along 
without it. 

Little pigs can very readily be taught to drink milk 
from a bottle and nipple, and when a sow has a large 
litter and not much milk, the young pigs can be fed with 
warm, new cow's milk with decided advantage. The 
milk of a sow is sometimes so rich as to derange the di- 
gestive organs of the little pigs and produce scours. In 
such a case I have frequently given the sow a table- 
spoonful of Glauber's salts (sulphate of soda) in her food 
with decided advantage. But a still better plan is, to 
try to increase the quantity of milk, and thus make it 
less rich. With this object in view, I have never 
found anything so good as a very weak soup, made with 
bran and a little oatmeal, or pea meal, or corn^meal, 
thoroughly cooked, with meat scraps, or fat of any 
kind, to make it nearly as greasy as ordinary water in 
which meat has been boiled. I have known to sows drink 
eight quarts, four times a day, of this weak food, and 
never have I had little pigs grow more rapidly, than 
when the sows are so fed. Pigs certainly like a little 
animal food or fat, and I think the large quantity of 
warm water which the sows drank, greatly increased 
the quantity of milk. 

I like to give my sucking sows, in the spring of the 
year, a few mangel Avurzel or beets. I do not know 
whether they increase the secretion of milk, but the 
pigs certainly like them, and I cannot but think that 
such succulent and nutritious food is cooling and health- 
ful. I have not tried corn ensilage, but see no reason 
to doubt that, during the winter and spring months, it 
would be a valuable addition to our ordinary pig-feed. 



360 HAEEIS ON THE PIG. 

SELLIX^G AND SHIPPING PUKE-BRED PIGS. 

The raising, selling, and shipping pure-bred pigs is an 
important business. As a rule, it is better to buy pigs 
direct from the breeders, and generally from those who 
confine themselves to only one breed. 

Purchasers should not expect too much, and sellers 
should do as they would be done by. If possible, it is 
better to select the pig or pigs yourself. But if this can- 
not be done, order from a reliable breeder, and if you 
are desirous of getting his best pigs, do not beat him 
down on the price. Really choice, well-bred, and well- 
formed pigs, with perfect pedigree, are always scarce. 
If a breeder advertises pigs at $25 per pair, do not write 
him after this fashion: " I enclose $15 for a pair of your 
best pigs. If you cannot send me a pair of your best 
pigs for $15, return the money." Neither is it right to 
ask a breeder to send pigs C. 0. D. If he sends them, 
and you refuse to take them, he will have to pay the ex- 
press charges both ways. If you are afraid to trust him 
with the money, do not trust him at all. If you can 
trust him to send you good pigs, with perfect pedigree, 
you can certainly trust him with the money. 

The express charges on live stock are higher than on 
general merchandise. If the box and pigs weigh less 
than 100 lbs., the rate is double what it is on ordering 
merchandise; if over 100 lbs., the rate on live stock is 
one and one-half the ordinary rate. It sometimes hap- 
pens, therefore, that it costs as much to send a pair of 
pigs as it docs to send a trio. For instance, if a pair of 
pigs, six to eight weeks old, with the box, weigh 85 lbs., 
and a trio, with box, 110 lbs., and the pigs are to be 
sent by express to Omaha, the regular rate to which 
place is $5.00 per 100 lbs., the charges on the pair of 
pigs would be $8.50, and on the trio, $8.25. In other 
words, the charges for carrying two pigs, are 25 cents 



RESULTS OF LATEll EXPERIENCE. 2G1 

more thau for carrying tlarce j)igs. Again, two sows 
ought to give joa tvrico as many pigs as one sow. la or- 
dering pigs, therefore, it u usually far better to get a trio 
than a i^air. 

There seems to bo a disposition to order older rather 
than younger pigs. It h a mistake. Better order pijs 
about two months old. It is simply a question of wait- 
ing a few months. The express charges are much lees 
on the younger pigs, and they will stand the journey 
quite as well as older ones. If you buy from a large 
breeder, who is constantly filling orders, the chances are 
that the best pigs of the litter go off first, and the poor- 
est are left to the last. I would rather take my chance 
with a six-weeks'-old yig, from such a breeder, than a 
six-months'-old jjig. 

Most breeders aim to have the sows come in early in 
the spring and again early in the autumn. The pigs 
are old enough to stand the journey when from six to 
eight weeks old. The spring litters are generally old 
enough to send off in May and June. The autumn lit- 
ters are old enough to shij) in November and December. 
Pigs that are born in this section, later than the first of 
November, rarely do well. The earlier you order your pigs 
in the autumn, the more likely you are to get good ones. 

Pigs a year old, or over, can go long distances by freight. 
The way to shiji them is, to make a good strong, roomy 
box, with a trough large enough to hold two bushels of 
feed. The trough is made by nailing a board across the 
end of the box. It should be well braced, or the pig 
will be likely to break it with his feet. Into this trough 
put some well-cooked corn meal, and also a good supply 
of roots, or cabbage, or potatoes. Three pounds of corn 
meal and 10 lbs. of beets per day will be amply sufficient 
for a large hog. I have had pigs on the cars three weeks 
without injury. I have never lost a pig or sheep when 
sent in this way by freight. 



2C2 HARRIS OIT THE PIG. 

I liaye repeatedly sent pigs by express to California and 
Oregon without loss or injury. I have sent two lots by 
express to New South Wales via San Francisco. The 
{iT'st lot went through safely, aud the gentleman cabled for 
come more, which I sent to San Francisco on the cars, 
and thence by steamer to Sydney. One of the pigs 
died on the steamer on the Pacific, but the others went 
through in good order. At some seasons ol the year, the 
ctcamers will not take live stock, and it is necessary to 
ascertain the facts before shipping. People who order 
aro sometimes very careless about such things. 

At the present time there is a law prohibiting the im- 
portation of pigs from tliis country into Canada. I re- 
ceived an order for a pure-bred sow, and, not knowing 
the lav/, cent her on by express. She reached the farm 
before the matter was reported to the authorities, and, 
according to a newsjjaper paragraph, seems to have had 
sense enough to hide herself in the woods or elsewhere, 
where the sheriff and his assistants could not find her. 

RECENT EXPERIMENTS IN PIG FEEDING. 

The following letter from Prof. J. "W. Sanborn ex- 
plains itself. It will be read with great interest: 

Columbia, Mo., April 10th, 1883. 

Joseph Harris, Esq.— 1/v/ Dear i9t>- .-—Tour recent letter requesting 
me to give a " short, clear statement of reports of experiments on pigs, 
including my own," and covering " the general management and breed- 
ing of pigs,'' and the questions involved in " cooking of food," came 
duly, and will receive the brief response you desire, from necessity, as 
personal experience covers seven years of weighings, and my time is 
very fully ocpupied. 

First.— I will give some facts and opinions growing out of personal 
experience, mostly obtained wiiile at the New Hampshire Agricultural 
College. Trials were inaugurated for the primary purposes of ascer- 
taining the relative value of foods ; of ascertaining the value of those 
foods when fed to pigs at successive degrees of development, and the 
relation of those foods to the character of the growth. 



RESULTS OF LATER EXPERIEN'CE. 263 

A. Early Matubitt. — Young pork is cheap pork ; old pork, dear 
pork. The first 28 days of feeding with skim milk alone, required 9.8 
lbs. of milk for 1 lb. of growth, starting with six-weeks'-old pigs. Sec- 
end period of 49 days required 1;].3 lbs., and a third period of 43 days 
called for 15 lbs. for 1 lb. of growth. Another year gave a gain for the 
average of 4 sets, of 2 each, of 36.1 lbs. gain for 100 lbs. food for the 
first 50 days ; for the next 32 days, the food remaining the same, the 
gain was but 26 lbs. for 100 lbs. of food. In feeding pigs against shotes, 
my records show, that the shotes require more food to make a pound of 
growth than the pigs do. The law that the older and larger an animal 
grows, the more food is required to make a pound of growth, is invaria- 
ble, other conditions remaining the same. This fact I have observed 
again and again, both with steers and pigs. Why repeat this fact, that 
every feeder is without excuse for ignoring ? Because I have. East and 
West, in many farmers' conventions, found that the idea is yet quite 
prevalent, that a shote is a more economical feeder than a pig. Sixteen- 
months' pork is made at probably 20 per cent, more cost than eight- 
months' pork. Increased cost comes more, I find, as the result of in- 
creased size, than of increased age ; hence it is my experience that that 
stamp of a pig should be fed that will come to the market early, and in 
shape for it. 

£. Exercise. — The influence of confinement in small pens in feeding 
trials has been quite marked. Slight exercise, has been accompanied by 
a minimum amount of food consumption, yet this consumption was 
economical. A growth of two-thirds of a pound per day has teen 
averaged only for 110 consecutive days, and yet 23 lbs. of growth per 
100 lbs. of food was made ; and upon some unpalatable, yet nutritious, 
foods, less gains on smaller consumptions have followed, and proved 
to be economical. In short, less gains than made by pigs under exer- 
cise have been achieved on less food than is commonly reported as 
required for a pound of growth. At the Missouri Agricultural College 
Farm, our pigs at large, last fall, or for 1882, on weighed rations of 
grain, and grass ad libitum, made very slightly less gain on a given 
amount of food, than an equal number confined to pens without grass. 
Brevity forbids the pursuit of this matter. I have become satisfied that 
moderate exercise at the early stage of growth, is conducive to appetite 
and rapid growth, but perhaps no more economical growth ; but if fol- 
lowed by confinement in the latter half of growth, by increased appe- 
tite and gain over those confined from the start. Such i)igs gave me in 
the fall of 1882, here, 2.8 lbs. growth per day on an enormous consump- 
tion of food, but an economical one. Exercise for breeding sows is 
nearly indispensable, if vigor, health, and appetite are expected — all of 
which qualities are needed when dropping and nursing their young 
comes. 

C. Food fob Yoxtsq Pigs.— My farm journal shows that certain 
classes of foods, coarse, or those hard to digest, are detrimental to eco- 
nomical, young pig-feeding. In organizing an experiment now, that 



204 HAEKIS OJST THE PIG. 

starts with young pigs, I avoid all coarse, indigestible foods ; or, if such 
are desired to be tested, delay the trial until a vigorous start has been 
acquired. Further along, it will be seen that cob meal, for pigs well 
started, is a very valuable food, but for pigs just weaned, for a short 
time only ; the following shows what may be expected. Two pigs 
weighed, April 1st, 1880, 47* lbs ; weighed June 9, 75 lbs ; ate 185 lbs. 
cob meal, or 1.3 lbs. per pig per day only, and gained less than 0.2 lb. 
per pig per day. The record of these two pigs was poor until the fat- 
tening period. This is only one case of many, while those by their 
side, on proper foods, go right along. I have had fully as bad results, or 
worse, with bran purposely used, losing young pigs by persisting in its 
use, yet at a later period I found bran far more useful. The importance 
of starting the young pigs right, is very great, and the caution not to 
underrate a given food, by using it at an improper stage of growth, not 
useless. The same may be said regarding the fattening period. 1 find 
nothing available, that replaces skim milk and some digestible meal, for 
young pigs, and if foiced to a choice of a single and cheap food, good 
middlings or shipstuff is effective ; it is better than corn meal, and 
cheaper than barley, oats, or peas; yet a variation of these, or rather the 
use of two or three sorts of food, is advisable. However, my purpose 
here is simply to point out what weighings have indicated in a negative 
way. 

D. Relation of Food to Quality of GnowTn.— I have but little 
that is definite to say on this important point. As the result of 166 
days of continuous feeding of two lots of pigs, one on clear middlings, 
and the other on clear corn meal, I found that the lot fed on middlings 
gave a shrinkage of 22.3 "/o, while those on corn meal gave 20.2 o/o- An- 
other lot, fed on skim milk alone for 110 days, and then for the remain- 
ing 56 days on meal and middlings, gave 18.6 "/o only of shrinkage. 
Each set of pigs had its own type of growth, but unfortunately we had 
no means of obtaining a chemical analysis of each. Lawes has ascer- 
tained that the food given affects the chemical make of the increase, 
ily pigs fed on middlings apparently made a better kind growth, for those 
who prefer more lean and less fat, and one that seemed more consistent 
with good health, and more likely to give good breeders. I feel quite 
confident, after watching the results of various foods, that it is within 
the power of the feeder to modify the character of the pork, and pro- 
duce a better quality than that from pure com meal. I am not able to 
give as definite information as I desire upon this important matter. 

E. Lime. — Pigs confined upon meal, and water containing little lime, 
as from some soils, I have again and again fed off their legs, so that at 
meals they would drag their hind-legs up to the feed trough, and not 
stand up for days. An examination of corn, and some figuring from 
chemical analyses, reveals the fact that the quantity of corn meal that 
will produce 100 lbs. growth, will contain but about one-tenth of the lime 
that should be found in the bones that accompany 100 lbs. of live pig. 
The inevitable result is, when no other source of lime is at hand. 



RESULTS OF LATEE EXPERIENCE. 265 

and available to the pig, either in water or some chance source, that the 
pig fails to stand up, he cripples. I find the same result with middlings, 
and even bran is short of lime. I have never failed to avoid this re- 
sult by using 1 to 2 lbs. fine ground bone meal per 100 lbs. food. 
Powdered chalk or sifted wood ashes will also afibrd the required lime. 
F. Foods. — A mere generalizing of the results must answer. The 
average of three years of patient weighing gave 28. i lbs. growth for 100 
lbs. middlings, and 26.4 from 100 lbs. com meal. This is for experi- 
ment trials with single foods, and it will be gathered that, in practice, 
better results should be obtained. This is a better gain than most trials 
reveal, but certainly not as good as obtainable. Two points will be ob- 
served. Firstly, this growth, for the past twenty years, would more 
than pay for the food. Secondly, the manure from a ton of middlings 
is worth more than twice as much as that from a ton of corn meal. 
Your tables will undoubtedly find a place in your work, and emphasize 
this fact. [See page 139.] Again, cob meal was fed for several years 
against clear meal, with remarkably good results. Brevity will allow 
of but a single quotation : 

Lot 1 ate, for 50 days, 318 lbs. cob meal and 286 lbs. skim milk. Gain, 131 lbs. 
" 2 " " 50 " 337 " clear " " 286 " " " " 135 " 

" 3 " " 50 " 304 " middlings " 286 " " " " 146 " 

Per pound of food eaten, those on cob meal, pound against pound, 
gained the most. By cob meal, I refer to the ear ground whole. The 
same relative results were achieved by feeding cob meal alone against 
clear corn meal. The clear cob, ground by itself, and fed in conjunc- 
tion with a little cotton-seed meal, to supply albuminoids, gave eco- 
nomic results. These trials were accompanied by others, the food or 
foods of each set fed, being analyzed for the purpose of determining 
the ratio of albuminoids to carbohydrates, and the ratio most success- 
ful. These to be compared with German results. 

The ratio varied from 1 to 4.1 to 1 to 6, without varying the gain per 
100 lbs. of food. A ration that supplied only 15 lbs. albuminoids per 
100 lbs. of pig feed, where the German tables call for five times this 
amount for 1 lb. of growth, gave i lb. of growth per day. This 0.15 
lbs. albuminoids dally is far less than the German maintenance fodder. 
This agrees with my results in cattle feeding. Without argument, I 
wish to insist that the German tables are founded in false philosophy 
and misrepresentation of facts. The food in question given was man- 
gel wurzels alone, yet over i lb. growth was made daily on raw mangels, 
notwithstanding they gave the pigs diarrhoea and an unfairly diminished 
growth. Of combination foods, only one has exceeded middlings in 
efficacy. Where a food is rightly proportioned in albuminoids, carbo- 
hydrates, and fats, less gain by mixing food can be expected than when 
otherwise. Middlmgs seem to come the nearest to being a perfect 
food of any single food I ever fed to pig or steer. Oats, barley, and 
peas, I have used only in a limited way, on account of price, and am 



266 HARRIS 01>5 THE PIG. 

not a fair judge, but was not encouraged against middlings. Milk and 
almost any meal, against any other food, has given me the most satisfac- 
tory results. Assuming that skim milk gives the growth quoted when 
fed alone, then fed with meal, middlings, or cob meal, these are far more 
effective than when fed by themselves, after the supposed growth at- 
tributable to skim milk is deducted. The success of rations of skim 
milk, is partially accounted for by its ease of digestion, liquid form, 
and bulk ; that of cob meal — 100 lbs. of it having the value of 100 lbs, 
of dear meal in feeding, largely by its bulk. Cobs are a rich source 
of the heat-producing elements of food, fibre, and carbohydrates, 
and have much value, as seen by the growth of pigs on clear ground 
cob and a little cotton-seed meal added. But I apprehend that the 
cob, when ground, acts as a divisor of the clear meal, preventing im- 
paction in the stomach, and aiding the free access of the various 
digestive fluids of the body. Again, it gives distension to the stom- 
ach and to the intestines, and, as has been suggested, by this disten- 
sion, securing the full active absorbing surface of the villi, that with 
a more concentrated food would, with an imperfect distension of the 
intestinal tube, have their surface contracted. A set of experiments 
were arranged in the interest of dairymen, to ascertain the value of 
skim milk when fed with meal, as against skim milk when fed alone. 
However well arranged, such a trial must contain elements of uncer- 
tainty. The results obtained, showed the skim milk with meal, to be 
27 Vo more effective, or, if you please, it made the grain more effec- 
tive, or each helped the other. Skimming removes the fat that young 
desire. This can be replaced in cheaper forms. 

G. Grinding Corn. — As against whole corn, I have only tested in 
Missouri, Dent corn, a softer grain than the Eastern Flint. The first 
trial was made with corn ground by the so-called horse-power grinders, 
which are crushers only, or at least the few I have seen, are. 

Lot 1, of 4 shotes, ate 1,202 lbs. whole corn. Gained, in 31 days, 320 lbs. 

" 2, " 4 " " 1,253 " " " " " 31 " 2b8 " 

Second Period. Corn ground by burr mill, fine. 

Lot 1 ate 1,123 lbs. whole corn. Gained in 30 days, 178 lbs. 

" 2 " 1,329 " fine meal. " " 30 " 245 " 

Fine grinding is better than coarse, then, if allowance is made for in- 
creased consumption in period two, of lot 2 over lot 1, this corn 
would not pay to grind when under 50 cents per bushel. The corn 
was new corn, fed before drying. Repeated to steers in the winter, 
grinding proved less satisfactory than was expected. 

The unsatisfactory character of this letter, thus far, will be excused, 
for detailed statements would involve the writing of a small book. 

Second Division of Subject.— This has already been partially, inci- 
dentally, covered in connection with what has gone before. The only 
art of managing breeding sows I know, is exercise, pure air, avoid- 
ance of much com meal, and of over or under feeding, still thinking well 



RESULTS OF LATER EXPERIENCE. 2G7 

of middlings, and, if they can be afforded, roots. Roots, 1 find, for 
breeding sows, have many friends. East and West, that I have met. 
Proper sanitary condition and food will be followed with little trouble 
in the farrowing stage. Sifted wood ashes or powdered chalk, I should 
have said, should always be kept within reach of the sows, and depend- 
ence placed on no one food alone. I think I can add nothing of special 
interest in the management of pigs that is not familiar to all. 

Thirdly. Cooktng Food. — I have had no practical experience. I 
regard the prolonged trials at the Maine Agricultural College as conclu- 
sive, so far as the food used and method resorted to is concerned. I have 
met the farmers of seven or eight States in conventions, and corres- 
ponded with more. There are vastly more who have tried cooking food 
and fail to prosecute it, than who now continue to cook food. I know 
of no good theoretical reasons in its favor. The digestive fluids of the 
system are more effective than heat, in digesting, or putting in digesti- 
ble form, our foods. Fine ground meal is all accessible to those fluids, 
without the aid of heat to change its physical condition. Provided the 
food could be presented in a digestible form, thus causing a decrease 
in the quantity of the required digestive fluids, at the most but little vital 
force would be saved by cooking, and at much extra expense ; the pig 
would always require his food cooked, he would become more delicate, 
and more the creature of artificial conditions. But we know that 
the cookiug of food does not do away with, to any material extent, 
the need of and secretion of digestive fluids, as in man. Even in 
the coarser foods, where theoretically, cooking should be more efiec- 
tive, it is more than doubtful whether cooking pays. Homrerger, in 
experiments with oxen, found nitrogenous matter less digestible with 
cooked, than with dry food, and that only 68 "/n of digestible albuminous 
matter was assimilated. U. Kreusler and others associated, found sour- 
ing and fermenting caused a loss of raw material, while boUing, scald- 
ing, and steaming, diminished the digestibility by the large amount of 
water. The trial of raw, damped, and steamed hay, showed that steam- 
ing diminished digestion. On visiting the famous herd of H. M. 
Cochrane, of Compton, Canada, I observed a costly but silent steaming 
arrangement that sent its chimney into the air nearly large enough 
and tall enough for a foundry. On questioning Mr. Cochrane's son and 
manager, he replied that abortion followed steaming, and more delicacy 
in their animals ; that they had more frequently to caU veterinarians 
from Montreal. Yet the subject merits a more decisive investigation 
than has as yet been given it. Among the many so-called trials, there 
is but little positive infonnation as yet obtainable. Hastily, 
Very respectfully, 

J. W. SANBORN. 



2G8 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 

COOKI^STG FOOD FOR PIGS. 

When the first edition of this book was pubhshed, the 
Chapter on Cooking Food for Pigs, page 222, was ob- 
jected to by some of the advocates of cooking. It did 
not please either the advocates or the opposers of cook- 
ing. I make no changes in what was then written. 
The truth of the matter seems to be, that the advocates 
of cooking made extravagant claims. Amateur farmers 
with plenty of money, erected expensive cooking appa- 
ratus, and then left it to hired men to manage. The 
result is what might have been expected. But this is 
really no argument against cooking food for pigs. I do 
not believe there is any truth in the idea that giving 
pigs cooked food makes them delicate. I have cooked 
food for my pigs for twenty years, and continue to do so. 
I think it pays. But I make no extravagant claims. 
Little pigs and suckling sows, in cold weather, it seems 
to me, will do better on warm food than on cold food. 
And that is about all there is to it. If you feed pota- 
toes, I have no doubt it pays to cook them; but not so 
with mangels. They are just as good raw. Malt- 
sprouts, of which I feed large quantities, are soaked in 
water, either warm or cold, as most convenient, and are 
just as good fed in this way as when cooked, and the 
pigs eat them just as well. We let the pigs have all 
they will eat of them. 



INDEX. 



Allen's, B. A., importation of Berk- 
shire 99 

Appendix 237 

Bake well's, Robert, breed of pigs.. 18 

Barley, Composition of 133 

" Value in feeding 131 

Bean meal, Value in feeding 126 

Beans as food for pigs 233 

" Composition of 133 

Bedfordsnire breed 93 

Berkshire breed 50, 74 

" A. B. Allen's importation. 99 

" and Tarn worth cross 33 

" Crosses of 32 

" Improved 76 

" in the U. S 98 

Black and Red pigs 86 

Black breeds 73 

Blister for pigs 234 

Boar, Selection of 192 

" Treatment of thorough-bred. 206 
BouBsingault's ejcperiments in feed- 
ing 118 

Bran, Composition of. 133 

" for pigs 239 

" Value in feeding 126 

Breeding and management of pigs 

192, 239 

Breeding, Objects in 15 

" Principles of 16 

Breeding-pens 200 

Breeds of pigs 14 

Breeds. Definition of large, small, 

and medium 25 

Breeds, Large vs. small 22 

" Leading English 232 

" Leading in the U. S 232 

" Modem English 66 

" in the U. S... 98 

" Sidney on large and small, . 32 

Buckinghamshire breed 97 

Bushey breed 97 

Butler Co., Ohio, pigs 113 

Cattle, Gain from feeding 13 

" Weight, Live and dead 192 

Castration, Time for 233 

Chase's, A. L., Essex pigs 84 



" Cheshire " breed 67, 94, 111 

Chester Co. White breed 105 

" " " " Hog-breed- 
ers' Manual on.llO 
" " " " Paschal 

Morris on 106 

Chinese breed 61 

Codfish, Composition of. 133 

" Value in feeding 133 

Coleshill breed 96 

Colds in young pigs 217 

Compost, Pig making. 142 

Constipation 210 

Cooking food for pigs 222 

Craonnaire Boar 45 

Crosses of thorough-breds 35 

Culley on Cheshire pigs 57 

Cumberland small breed 63 

Davis', Hewitt, experience in pig 

feeding 30 

Desirable qualities in a pig 80 

Devons 33, 87 

Diarrhoea in young pigs 217 

Diseases of pigs 234 

Disinfectants 234 

Dorsets 32, 88 

Dry earth for pigs 234 

" Emperor." 53 

English breeds. Improvement of. . . 47 
English experiences in pig feeding.181 
Essex, Fisher Hobbs' improve- 
ments in 53, 82 

Essex, Improved 80 

" " Crosses of 32 

" " History of 52 

" Imported lOO 

" Lord Western's 82 

" Old 5a 

Experiments in pig feeding..., 118, 129 

Fancy breeds 95 

Fattening pigs near large cities 178 

Feeding, A dairy fanner on 187 

A Yorkshire breeder on,. 188 
A Yorkshire farmer on. . .186 
Dr. M. Miles' experiments 118 
English experience in.. .,181 
Exneriments in lU 



(269) 



270 



HAEEIS OK THE PIG. 



Feeding Grain 225 

" Lawes and Gilbert's ex- 
periments in 122 

" Mineral substances neces- 
sary m 130 

" Mr. Baldwin on 182 

" Use of sugar in 135 

Feet, Unsound 244 

Fisher Hobbs' improvements in 

Essex 53 

Fi slier, John, Lecture on breeding 

and management 239 

Food, Cooking 222 

Form of a fat pig 236 

" of a good pig 17 

French pigs 45 

"General." 68 

German pigs 45 

Gestation, Period of 233 

"Gloucester." 67 

Good pigs need good care 37 

Grade pigs. Value of. 100 

Greyhound hog 44 

Hampshire pig 49, 91 

Herefordshire breed 50, 94 

Howard, James, M. P., on pigs 239 

Improvement of the English breeds 

of pigs 47 

In-and-in breeding 35 

Indian meal. Composition of 133 

" " Value in feeding ..126 

Intestines, Proportion to weight of 

body 11 

Itch 234 

Jealousy an aid to fattening 230 

Jefferson County breed Ill 

Large vs. small breeds and crosses. 22 
Lawes and Gilbert's experiments 

in pig feeding 122 

Lecture by John Fisher 239 

Lentil meal. Value in feeding 126 

Lentils, Composition of 133 

" Liberator." 67 

Lice, To destroy 234 

Lincolnshire breed 57, 92 

Liquid manure 143 

Live and dead weight of pigs 191 

Lord Western's Essex 52 

Mackelcan, J., on management 237 

Magie (Ohio) breed 113, 245 

Management of pigs 175, 237 

" of thorough-bred pigs. 203 
Hans'e 2»4 



Mangles', George, experience in 

feeding 95 

Mangles', George, piggery 163 

Manure, Table of value of 139 

Manure, The pig as a manufacturer 

of 141 

" Value of liquid 143' 

" Value to each 100 lbs. of 

pork 141 

" Value of pig 137 

Measles 235 

Michigan Agricultural College, Pig- 
gery, etc 147 

Middlesex breed 95 

Miles' Dr. M. experiments in feedingllS 
Milliken, Hon. J. M., on Magie 

pigs 113, 345 

Mineral food for pigs 130 

" Miss Emily." 70 

Modern breeds of English pigs 56 

Morris' , Paschal, piggery 154 

Neapolitan breed 52 

Norfolk breed 93 

Nottinghamshire breed 95 

Ogden Farm piggery 160 

Oil-cake for pigs 233 

Old Irish pig...-. 44 

OldYorkshire breed 67 

Original Old English pig 43 

Origin and improvement of our do- 
mestic pigs 41 

Oxfordshire, Improved 85 

Ox, Stomach of 9 

Peas for pigs 233 

" Raising, for pigs 177 

Pen-breeding 200 

Petroleum on pigs 234 

Pig, Desirable Qualities in 20 

" Form of a good 17 

" Quietness in 21 

" Stomach of 9 

Pig feeding 11 

" " Hewitt Davis on 30 

" " Why they gain more 

rapidly than oxen or sheep .12 

Pigs on dairy farms 175 

" on grain farms 176 

" Origin and improvement of. . 41 

" Peas for 177 

" Profit of raising thoroagh- 

bred 220 

" require gentle treatment 42 

" Breeiing and rearing 198 



INDEX. 



271 



Pigs, Breeds of. 14 

■' Cooking food for 223 

" Fattciiiug near large cities. . .178 

" Lame 2-14 

" Management of. 175 

" Management of thorough- 
bred 203 

" Young, Care of 196, 243 

" " Catching 242 

" " Colds iu 217 

•' " Diarrhoea iu 217,243 

" " Feeding 212 

" " Management of. 217 

" " Taming 219 

" " Time to wean... 197, 242 

" " Treatment of chilled. 212 

Piggery, The author's 148 

" George Mangles' 163 

** Michigan Agricultural Col- 
lege. 147 

" Mr. Roseburgh's 158 

" Ogdcn Farm 160 

" Paschal Morris' 154 

" Tattenhall (Eng.) 166 

Piggeries and pig pens 144 

Pig pens 144 

" Location of. 144 

Pigtroughs 169 

" " Cast-iron 174 

" " Convenient 172 

" " hewn out of a log 170 

" " Plank 171 

" " Swinging door 173 

Pork, Food required to produce 100 

lbs 11 

Prince Albert's pigs 96 

Profit of raising thorough-bred 

pigs 222 

Protrusion of rectum 2.36 

Pulpingroots 228 

Rectum, Protrusion of 236 

Rheumatism ....236,244 

Roseburgh's, Mr., piggery 158 

' Bheep, Lawes' experiments in feed- 
ing 22 

" Stomach of 9 

" Live and dead weight of. 192 

Shropshire breed 94 

Sidney on large and small breeds.. 32 

Soaking grain for pigs 228 

Bow at farrowing time 194, 241 

" Breeding, Management of. 241 

♦* Feeding a suckling 214 



Sow lying on pigs 211 

" Selection of 198 

" taking the boar 233 

" Treatment of thorough-bred.. 209 
Spring pigs. Rearing and manage- 
ment of 200 

Stickney's, Isaac and Josiah, impor- 
tation of Suffolk 100 

Stomach, Importance of a good 20 

of ox. Weight of 9 

" of pig. Weight of. 9 

" Proportion to weight of 

body 11 

" of sheep, Weight of 9 

Stone, F. W., on pigs 2:38 

Suffolk and other white breeds 72 

Suffolk breed 92 

" grades 103 

" introduced into Boston... 100 

Sugar as food for pigs 135 

Summary 232 

Sus Indica 41 

Sus scrofa 41 

Swellings, Treatment of 243 

Swill barrels 169 

Swill barrel, Portable 170 

Swill tub .. . 170 

Tamworth breed 86, 87 

Tam worth and Berkshire cross 33 

Tapeworm 2-35 

Tattenhall piggery 166 

Thorough-bred pig. Value of . 35 

Value of a thorough-bred pig 35 

" of pig manure 137 

Warwickshire breed 86 

Weight of pigs. Live and dead. . . .191 
" of different parts of a pig. .191 

Weaning young pigs 197 

Welsh pigs 94 

White Leicesters 59, 72 

Wild boar 41 

Wild hogs 41 

Windsor breed 96 

"Windsor Castle" 99 

Woburu breed 33, 94 

Telt 66 

York-Cumberland breed 66 

Yorkshire grades 103 

" introduced into theU. S.IOO 

" large breed 59 

" middle or medium breed. 69 
" smallbreed 63 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Diagram of, Testing the Form of a Good Pig Page 18 

Wild Boars 42 

Willi Boar 43 

Orlgiual Old English Pig 43 

Old Irish Pig 44 

French Prize Boar— Craonnaire White 46 

Chinese Sow— Imported 48 

Berkshire Pig— (Loudon) 49 

Hampshire Pig " 49 

Herefordshire Pig " 50 

Suffolk Pig " 51 

Berkshire Sow 51 

Yorkshire Large Breed, " Sir Roger de Coverly." 58 

Yorkshire Large Breed, " Parian Duchess." 60 

Yorkshire Large Breed, " Golden Days." 62 

Cumberland- York Boar — Small Breed 64 

York-Cumberland Pig— Small Breed 66 

Yorkshire Middle Breed—" Miss Emily." 68 

White Leicester Boar and Sow— Small Breed •. 76 

Berkshire, Improved— Smithfield Chib Fat Prize Sow 75 

Berkshire, Improved, Middle Breed, Boar 77 

Essex, Improved — " Emperor." 79 

Essex, Lord Western's 87 

Essex Boar, L. A. Chase's 83 

Essex Sows " " 83, 84 

Chester County White Pig 105 

Jeflfersou County Pig Ill 

Piggery, Michigan Agricnltnral College 147 

Piggery, Ground Plan of Michigan Agricultural College 148 

Piggery, Plan of the Author's 151 

Piggery, Paschal Morris' 154 

Piggery, Ground Plan of Paschal Morris' 155 

Piggery, Mr. Rosebnrgh's 157 

Piggery, Ground Plan of Mr. Rosehurgh's 159 

Piggery, Partition in " " 160 

Piggery, Ground Plan of Ogden Farm 161 

Piggery, Cross Section of Ogden Farm ■ 163 

(272) 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 273 

Piggery, Elevation of Ogden Farm 102 

Shed for Fattening Pigs, Mr. Mangles' 163 

Shed, Ground Plan of " " 103 

Shed, Isometrlcal view of " " 105 

Piggery, Covered Food Ilouse at Tattenhall KKi 

Pigsrery, Gronnd Plan of Covered Food IIouso at Tattenhall , 1(>7 

Portable Swill Barrel 170 

Pig Trough— Hewn Out of a Log 170 

Pig Trough, Plank 171 

Pig Trough, Convenient 17-3 

PigTrongh, Swinging Door 173 

Pig Trough, Swing Door to 174 

Pig Trouch, CaPt-iron 174 

Brood Sow— Proiierty of the DuUp of Buccl«uch. 180 

Jealousy as an Aid to Fattenuin; %il 



Gardening for Yoiing and Old. 

THE 

CULTIVATION OF GARDEN VEGETABLES IN THE 
FARM GARDEN. 

By JOSEPH HARRIS, M.S., 

AutJuxr of "Walks and Talks on the Farm," "■Harrison the Pig,'" "Talks on 
Manvres," etc. 




CONTENTS. 
Introduction.— An Old and a New Garden.— Gardening for Boys.— How to 
Begin.— Preparing the Soil.— Killing the Weeds.— About High Farming.— Com- 
petition in Crops.— The Manure Question.- The Implements Needed.— Start- 
ing Plants in the House or in the Hot-hed.— The Window-box.— Making the 
Hot-bed.— Cold Frames.— Insects.— The Use of Poisons.~The Care of Poisons. 
—The Cultivation of "Vegetables m the Farm Garden.— The Cultivation of 
Flowers. 

ILLLUSTRATED. 

ISmo. Cloth. Price, post-paid, $1.25. 

ORANGE JUDD COMPANY, 751 Broadway, New York. 



TALKS ON MANURES. 

By JOSEPH HARRIS, M. S. 

Of Jforelon Fiirm, lioche/ster, New Yoi'k. Author of " Walka and Talks on the 
Farm," " Talks on Farm Crops," "Harris on the Pig," etc. 




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USES OF m:a]vxjr,e, 

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experiments instituted years ago, and still continued, by Lawes and Gilbert, of 
"^othamstod, England. The 

i£Em:aiik:able tables 

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